McClarrons teamed up with Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) throughout November to put on two Cyber Crime and Fraud seminars for farmers and owners of rural businesses.
The seminars were held with the aim of educating the rural community on the threats cyber crime poses, how to protect against them and the insurance products available. Steven Swift, Development Manager at McClarrons, noted: “Cyber crime is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud and it is so important that as rural insurance specialists, we are informing the community about the risks and claims we are seeing in order to help prevent more people falling victim to such crime”.
With 30% of small businesses suffering a cyber attack last year, and with 80% of online crimes being reported as being able to be prevented by taking simple cyber-security steps, it seems obvious that education is the key to ensuring fewer fall victim to this type of fraud. Whilst there are insurance policies available to help, it is much better to be proactive and take steps to prevent such events in the first instance.
Kate Dale, Yorkshire Rural Support Network Co-ordinator at YAS, said of the events: “It is vital that farming and other rural businesses get the education and advice they need to keep information as secure as possible. As a very real threat in today’s world, no business is immune from cyber crime and we must all be much more aware of the threats to our businesses and our livelihoods”.
The talks also looked at crime in the rural sector more widely with Inspector Jon Grainge of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce also speaking. He discussed the role of the Rural Taskforce and the current issues facing the rural community. Inspector Grainge said: “We want to work with communities to ensure that people living in rural areas can feel safe and be safe. Acquisitive crime, wildlife crime and heritage crime are of course a major concern for our rural communities, but cyber crime and fraud can have a devastating impact on people’s lives, no matter where they live and work”.
After discussing some of the most common types of rural crime including livestock theft and cross-border crime, Inspector Grainge spoke about the way the rural taskforce are trying to improve their work within the rural community. He added: “Good two-way communication, local engagement and reassurance all have a role to play in giving communities confidence in the policing service across rural areas, so I was pleased to be able to attend the seminars on behalf of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce and share these important crime prevention messages.”
Building awareness around the types of crime and fraud that are most prevalent, and by people continuing to share their experiences with the police, we hope will reduce the level of crimes being committed.
If you would like to know more about the evolving risks of cyber crime or for advice on your business’s insurance requirements, contact the team at McClarrons on 01653 697055 or by emailing enquiries@networkportfolio.co.uk/mcclarroninsurance.com.
