The ‘old-fashioned’ computer criminal is definitely taking a new path as a criminal. In the first eight months of 2023, the police counted fewer reports of traditional cybercrime than in the same period last year. The Fraud Help Desk expects damage of ‘only’ seven tonnes for the whole of this year.
This means that the rise of virus scanners, spam filters and reporting buttons for suspicious emails are having an effect, concludes internet expert Danny Mekic. “Due to better protection against issues such as hacking and malware, the potential yield is considerably smaller than a few years ago.”
Corona year
The result can be seen in the latest police reporting figures. The number of reports of cybercrime, in which the computer is both the means and the end, doubled when we became almost fused with our screen in corona year 2020, continued to rise in 2021, but fell again the following year. And despite a peak in August, the total number of cybercrime reports at the end of last month was still lower than at the same time in 2022.
The downside, according to a spokesperson for the Fraud Help Desk: “Computer criminals now find it easier to use an excuse to persuade people to transfer money themselves.” Think of the ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ who texts ‘if you can quickly transfer some money’, or investment or dating fraud.
These are all examples of what the police call horizontal fraud – and the number of reports of this is increasing. The police cannot provide exact figures, because the same category also includes cases such as odometer scams and healthcare fraud, but confirms the image of cyber criminals who shift their field of activity from backdoors in computers to their inattentive users.
Unimaginable
Corona and the lockdowns have expanded the ‘market’ for criminals, says Mekic, as has the rise of instant payments — what has become popularly called ‘tikkie’. “As a victim you are pressured to act quickly, to transfer something quickly, you have no time to hesitate.” Moreover, “People are now getting used to the idea that criminals might pretend to be your son or daughter, or even imitate the sound of their voice, and are becoming more vigilant.”
So the internet expert’s plea: ensure that criminals can exert less pressure on their victims. “Banks must give their customers the opportunity to reverse fraudulent transactions, just like with credit card payments. And offer a special ‘secure’ payment option: if someone transfers money to a stranger, it should only be paid out once the consideration has been provided.”
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