Victimisation in a Digitised Society : A Survey among Members of the Public into E-Fraud, Hacking and Other Frequently Occurring Crimes

The internet has brought us great benefits, but also new forms of vulnerability: computers are attacked by hackers, people buying online are defrauded, and stalkers use digital technology to hound their victims. This book's research presents the first countrywide view of victimization in the Netherlands caused by 'offenses with a digital component' - in other words, cybercrime. The research results were collated from data covering 9,163 users of the internet from the age of 15 upwards. They focus chiefly on the scale of victimization and the factors affecting the risk of becoming a victim. The role of the police is also taken into account. The figures reveal that cybercrime has a serious impact on the daily life of ordinary people. It has all the characteristics of high-volume crime. This means that expertise on cybercrime ought to be broadly available throughout the entire chain of criminal law. The results of this research are significant for all who are involved in the digitization of our society and in combating crime.