More Dutch are victims of fraudulent online stores

An increasing number of Dutch people have become the victim of fraudulent online stores. On the other hand, the number of other cybercrime offences like hacking or identity fraud have decreased. In the Netherlands, it’s mostly highly educated people who become the victim of cyber criminals.

This news was shared by Statistics Netherlands after it has done a study [pdf] on cybercrime in the Netherlands. Online shopping fraud has increased over the last couple years, at least in terms of victims. Last year, 3.3 percent of the Dutch population was involved, while this percentage was 2.7 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, the share of online shoppers didn’t grow that hard.

When we just look at the Dutch people who shop online, it shows that 5.8 percent of them were at least once the victim of online shopping fraud. This percentage was 5.3% in 2012, so online shopping fraud has not solely to do with new people turning to online shopping, it also happens to consumers who are accustomed to ecommerce purchases.

Statistisc Netherlands also looked at online selling fraud. “This type of fraud, where people don’t pay for goods or services that are delivered, haven’t changed in the last couple of years. It’s also a type of fraud we see less than online shopping fraud.

The statistics bureau also checked what kinds of people became a victim of online fraud. Research shows that for all types of cybercrime (online shopping fraud, hacking and identity fraud) the share of victims is highest among highly educated people. “This has to with the fact they shop online more often.”

CBS also found out that the share of Dutch people who shop online increased from 51 percent in 2012 to 57 percent last year.