More than one million online crimes went unreported by individuals and businesses between 2013 and 2014, it has been revealed.
A report by the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee says that 1,160,500 online crimes went unreported during that period. It put a figure on the losses of around 12 billion.
Many businesses aren't reporting these crimes is because they are making a commercial decision and opting to absorb the cost of the incident as a running expense, according to the report. However, the report notes that the cost of such crimes are, ultimately, being passed onto the customer, resulting in higher prices for good and services.
Roger Evans, chairman of the Online Crime Working Group, said: "We were concerned to see that London's police feel banks and other businesses might not be reporting offences for fear of appearing vulnerable. In the interests of everyone, these organisations must dare to share information with law enforcement agencies."
The report found that banks and other organisations don't want to report online theft and fraud because they do not want to lose competitive advantage by showing that they have been a victim, or there's little chance the police will catch the criminals, so they opt to take on the losses instead.
The British Bankers' Association did tell researchers that it is encouraging its members to report crimes and banks are proving to be "very diligent" in meeting their legal and regulatory obligations by providing public authorities with information about cyber crime and fraud incidents in their organisations.
As a response to these problems, the Met Police has vowed to improve its relationship with businesses to encourage them to report crimes.
It has encouraged a bulk reporting system to allow businesses that process high volumes of transactions to report up to 250 incidents at once.
Additionally, the Metropolitan Police will launch England's first Business Crime Resilience Centre, which aims to offer advice, support and encourage information sharing across businesses and the police.
Evans said: "The internet has changed how we live our lives, mostly for the better. But it has also provided new opportunities for criminals. Increasingly, it can help to facilitate almost all types of crime."
