The value of stolen goods such as financial information and credit card data held on "underground" servers has been estimated at £184 million, according to recent research by a security company.

Symantec's survey found that credit card data was the predominant source of income for fraudsters and scammers online, providing 31 per cent of income.

Furthermore, the average credit limit of a card sold online - which went for anywhere between 7p and £17 - was worth £2,650.

Vice-president of Symantec security technology and response Stephen Trilling said that cybercriminals were "thriving" due to lax security and careless businesses and IT support individuals.

He continued: "As these individuals and groups continue to devise new tools and techniques to defraud legitimate users around the globe, protection and mitigation against such attacks must become an international priority."

Apacs states that over seven out of ten users of the internet have bought something online, with many cards stolen in the real world before being used in the digital environment.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).