Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, is welcoming a new initiative that will allow the public to check if a website is safe before they access it.

The new feature is hosted by Get Safe Online, a cyber-security organisation the PCC commissions in Cumbria. Get Safe Online has partnered with Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, to launch ‘Check-a-Website’.

The innovative new feature invites users to check if a website is safe to use before accessing. It is expected to prevent thousands of people in the UK falling victim to unwanted online scams every year. 

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, said: “Cyber criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated with their scams so it’s really important that we learn to spot the signs of potential scams and fake websites.

“This new feature on the Get Safe Online website adds another layer of protection for the public as it is a safe place to find out if a website that is unfamiliar is safe or not.

“Cyber-crime has increased by 15% in Cumbria in the last twelve months, so we know that criminals are developing their skills to target trusting individuals."

Criminals are increasingly turning to the internet to target victims, with malicious and spoofed websites becoming increasingly sophisticated. These websites are designed to steal the financial and personal details of users – which are often used to facilitate identity theft.

The latest data from Cifas has revealed that there was a 43% increase in cases involving identity fraud filed to the National Fraud Database in Quarter one of 2022 when compared to the same period last year, with 9 in 10 instances of identity fraud taking place online.

Check a website is an easy-to-use online tool which helps determine whether a website is likely to be legitimate or a scam before you visit it. Users simply type in the address of the website they want to check, and their results will appear within seconds.

The tool was originally devised in 2012 and has been the subject of continuous improvement by the ScamAdviser technical team ever since. It has been used successfully in the Netherlands and Portgual, and the UK is latest to benefit from its unique capabilities.