How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
In 2021, 16.9 percent of the population fell victim to cybercrime. This is approximately the same number as traditional crime, such as burglary, theft, violence and vandalism.
Almost 10 percent of the population aged 15 or over were victims of online scams and fraud in 2021. Most cases concerned purchase fraud, i.e. goods or services purchased online that were not delivered. Other, less common, offences included sales fraud (products sold but not being paid for), payment fraud, identity fraud and phishing. The latter involves receiving a phone call, email or app from a (potential) fraudster. Among those who received such messages, 0.8 percent, which is over 100 thousand people, fell for it and lost money.
In 2021, 7 percent fell victim to hacking. Two percent had been confronted with online threats and harassment. This involves threatening, bullying, stalking and shame sexting.
Soort | Victims |
---|---|
Total | 16.9 |
Scams and fraud | 9.7 |
Purchase fraud | 6.9 |
Sales fraud | 1.4 |
Payment fraud | 1.3 |
Identity fraud | 0.8 |
Phishing | 0.8 |
Hacking | 6.9 |
Hacking of account | 5.7 |
Hacking of device | 2.9 |
Threats and intimidation |
2.3 |
Threats | 0.9 |
Bullying | 0.8 |
Stalking | 0.8 |
Shame sexting | 0.4 |
Other cybercrime | 0.6 |
Victims of phishing most likely to report it
Of all cybercrime victims, 47 percent have reported what happened to them to someone or some authority; 19 percent of them have reported it to the police. Fraud in payment transactions was reported by over three quarters of the victims to a bank, the police, the Fraud Help Desk or another authority. One quarter of the victims of fraud reported it to the police. Victims of phishing were most likely to report the crime, at 55 percent. Hacking was reported least often.
Cyberbullying, stalking and shame sexting may also include reporting it to family, friends, people at school or at work. The only information known in the case of online threats is whether they have been reported to the police.
Soort delict | Shared as information | Reported to the police |
---|---|---|
Cybercrime total | 46.5 | 18.7 |
. | . | |
Payment fraud | 76.6 | 24.9 |
Phishing | 70.8 | 55.1 |
Stalking | 68.4 | 22.6 |
Bullying | 66.4 | 14 |
Identity fraud | 56.4 | 32.1 |
Shame sexting | 54.2 | 17 |
Sales fraud | 46.6 | 24.8 |
Purchase fraud | 40.6 | 20 |
Hacking | 37.6 | 11.5 |
Threats | 25.6 | 18.5 |
Other online offences | 45.6 | 23.1 |
Over 1 in 7 victims suffer from mental health problems
Among victims of cybercrime, 15 percent suffered or had suffered from emotional or psychological problems. The level of impact of cybercrime depends on the type of crime or incident. Victims of online threats and harassment experience problems more often than victims of online scams and fraud and victims of hacking. For instance, more than half of victims of bullying experienced emotional or psychological problems, while in the case of hacking or purchase fraud, around 10 percent reported such problems.
Safety Monitor
The figures are taken from the Netherlands' Safety Monitor, a collaboration between CBS and the Ministry of Justice and Security. The Safety Monitor is a large-scale national survey covering topics since 2012 on the quality of people’s living environment, safety perceptions, crime victimisation, the citizen’s level of satisfaction with the police and prevention.
Source
News release – Nearly 2.5 million Dutch people victims of cybercrime in 2021
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