Young people more often involved in fraud and cybercrime

Young people are increasingly involved in cybercrime cases. Last year, 47 percent of cybercrime cases involved a suspect aged 21 or younger, compared to 33 percent in 2018. In actual numbers, the number of cybercrime cases involving young suspects increased from 278 in 2018 to 1,329 last year, NOS reports based on figures from the Public Prosecution Service (OM)

The massive increase in cybercrime cases with young suspects is partly due to a change in registration methods. It concerns all types of cybercrime, from DDoS attacks to fraud. The most common was fraud by impersonating someone else on WhatsApp, pretending to call from a helpdesk, or fake Marktplaats ads.

According to the OM, young people often don’t seem to realize the severity of their actions. “Young offenders sometimes seem to lack the realization that they are hitting real victims,” the OM said. The severity of their crimes is also increasing. “Cybercrime has mingled with organized crime, which has discovered that there is a lot to be made here.”

The police expect cybercrime to become an even bigger problem in the future, Theo van der Plas, responsible for cybercrime at the police, said to NOS. The police can’t tackle this problem alone. Municipalities, schools, and parents have to become more aware and help with prevention, he said.

The police worry that young people will slide from cybercrime to other crimes. “Criminal money makes criminal money,” said Van der Plas. “Young people earn capital and then use it to buy and trade drugs.”

Both the police and OM said that it is becoming easier to commit cybercrime due to ready-made tools for committing fraud or DDoS attacks, for example.