Rory Innes recognised with Points of Light award by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Rory Innes, our founder and CEO, has today been awarded the Points of Light Award by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak.
The award recognises Rory's exceptional contribution to supporting victims of cybercrime and his innovative approach to providing free and confidential support and advice to people in need. Rory founded The Cyber Helpline in early 2018 after seeing the huge gap in support for victims.
Since its launch, The Cyber Helpline has directly supported over 35,000 individuals and families and more than 500,00 have accessed its online guidance. It currently opens around 2,000 new cases a month. The charity has won the Charity of the Year award twice at the National Cyber Awards and has recently been awarded Crime Fighter of the Year at the True Crime Awards.
Points of Light are outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community. Every week day the Prime Minister recognises an inspirational volunteer with the daily Points of Light award.
“I am surprised and honoured to receive the Points of Light award. Receiving this award is a reflection of the amazing work our volunteers do on a daily basis to support victims of cybercrime and online harm. Since founding The Cyber Helpline we have supported more than 35,000 individuals & families and over 500,000 victims have visited our online advice.
More needs to be done to support victims of cybercrime and online harm. Too many have to live with the negative impact on mental health, online confidence and their finances. This award is a great reminder of the value of the work we do and will help us push forward for a world where the cybercriminals don’t win.”
The past 12 months saw a 177% growth in demand for The Cyber Helpline’s services and it is currently running a pilot supporting victims in the USA. Its volunteers help with a range of issues including cyberstalking, sextortion, hacked accounts, scams and online harassment. Learn more about The Cyber Helpline’s and our work here.