My eyebrows were raised by a story in Computer Weekly claiming that cybertheft is the UK’s “most feared crime”, even outranking burglary, assault and robbery. It just doesn’t ring true. Perhaps some interpretation is needed? Looking closer, the research is commissioned by a security vendor, so perhaps there’s been a little selective reporting. The sample is “regular Internet users”, so it’s not completely representative of the UK public. Reading further, the phrase “most feared” becomes “most vulnerable” which is perhaps more understandable. And the proportion of users voting this way is 43%, which is high, but not overwhelming. But rather strangely, Liverpool is the city most afraid of cybertheft with 93% citing it as a concern, followed by Glasgow with 92% and Cardiff third with 91%. Why these places? Could it be down to reports in the local press? Or might it be that Northern City dwellers are so hardened to other forms of crime, that cybercrime is actually scarier than being mugged? Now that would be alarming.