In this article, the authors draw on a netnographic study conducted between May and July 2019 on phishing on Telegram Messenger. The results indicate that Telegram, just like cryptomarkets and online forums, seems to function as a criminal marketplace. In the groups analyzed the authors see users who both offer and are looking for specific goods and services related to the crime script of phishing. Furthermore, the information on Telegram contains specific modi operandi that are offering comprehensive and step-by-step guides to successfully complete specific financial cybercrimes. Therefore, based on this explorative study the authors argue that Telegram can be seen as a digital offender convergence setting.

This contribution contains several concrete examples of ‘Corona crime’ thereby showing how the current crisis is creating new opportunities for committing crimes. The authors revert to an analysis framework that was previously used to interpret new forms of crime during the banking crisis. It consists of four scenarios that are briefly described. The future will have to show what effects the corona pandemic has had on fraud and other financial and economic crime.

The prevalence of online crime increases. Social engineering, such as email phishing, is often an important element in an attack. Several interventions have been developed to reduce the success of these types of attacks. The current study investigates whether interventions can help reduce vulnerability to social engineering attacks. The authors investigate which types of interventions and specific elements are most successful. They selected studies with an experimental design that tested at least one intervention. A total of 19 studies with 37 effect sizes, based on a total sample of N=23,146 subjects, were found. The available training courses, intervention materials and effect sizes were analysed. Overall, positive effects of interventions were found. However, there are substantial differences in effect for the different types of interventions. Effective interventions are relatively intensive and have a specific focus. The authors conclude with the design of the best possible intervention given the results of their research.

The aim of this research was to examine how Dutch citizens behave online and to explain their online behavior. The results of an experimental survey (N=2,426) show that unsafe behavior is highly prevalent. For example, nearly 40% of the respondents use a weak password. However, it appears that there are major differences between self-reported behavior and objective behavior. The objective measurements in the survey show that people behave more unsafely than they self-report. The research further shows that there is no silver bullet for promoting more safe online behavior. Different online behaviors seem to stem from different sources. Nevertheless, the authors do see a lot of value in interventions that focus on adaptations to the technology that people use for online activities, such that the possibility of unsafe behavior is reduced and the possibility of safe behavior is increased – also known as security by design. There is a role here for policy measures encouraging technology manufacturers to make these adjustments.

In the Internet era, banking fraud has become a common way of stealing money. According to victim surveys, this offense has already led to significant numbers of victims. In this article, the authors focus on illegal bank account withdrawals, which are an indication of identity fraud. For this they use data on 636 victims who were surveyed in the LISS panel. Using the concept of ‘capability to act’, as used in the WRR report Why knowing what to do is not enough (2017), the authors model which type of victim takes action to get the stolen amount reimbursed and which type of victim succeeds in doing so. They expect that the less educated and people with low self-control more often refrain from contact with authorities (bank, police) and therefore more often receive no compensation and remain with higher residual damage. The results show that approximately four in five victims of unauthorized bank debits are fully compensated. For the group of victims for whom this is not the case – remaining with residual damage – most of the hypotheses are confirmed.

Online fraudsters seem to adapt to new digital opportunities. While the academic literature about phishing mainly focuses on phishing through emails, fraudsters also appear to use new means of communication and platforms to find and deceive their victims. Based on analysis of 728 police reports from the period from June 20th to August 20th 2019, this article provides a descriptive study on the new phenomenon of payment request fraud on the Dutch advertisement platform Marktplaats.nl (similar to eBay). The article will provide a thorough description of the crime script and its success factors. As fraudsters now use new means of communication, it will also be assessed to what extent they use new persuasion techniques, and to what extent victims may have different characteristics. The research, therefore, focuses on the modus operandi, persuasion techniques used by the fraudsters, and victim characteristics.

Romance scams have seen a worldwide increase and are one of the most financially damaging forms of cybercrime. In addition, victims suffer strong emotional impact and are confronted with victim blaming. Research shows how the combination of various emotional and financial impact can induce a ‘double-hit’ on victims. Knowledge and possibilities for law enforcement are insufficient, which leads to a lack of financial compensation and support for victims.

This contribution treats debt recovery as an important cause for the emergence and worsening of the debt problem. It is explained that when a bailiff seizes wage, the debtor often has too little left to live on. In addition to seizure of wage, the bailiff can also seize the bank account or seize household goods in order to sell these. The author describes how this can lead to new debts and what legislation is being prepared to modernize this situation. In case of problematic debts, multiple creditors are collecting from the same debtor, which requires coordination. The recovery by creditors facilitated by the current rules focuses on the claims of individual creditors. However, as soon as problematic debts are involved, an integrated approach is necessary, in which the common interest, the interest of all creditors and that of the debtor, takes precedence over self-interest.

Problematic debt has a large impact on people’s lives and tends to escalate quickly, making early detection and debt prevention crucial. Debt prevention is a mix of measures, activities and provisions aimed at ensuring that people acquire financial skills and that they are capable and actually behave financially sound, so that their finances are and remain in order. So people have to be financially literate and have financial skills, but they also have to be able to act at the right time in the right way. There is currently not enough attention for these three elements in legislation and regulations.

The corona crisis can be seen as an opportunity to facilitate a much wider access to the courts for a clean slate in the case of personal insolvency. This access was provided by the 1998 Dutch law on debt rescheduling Wsnp. After explaining the relapse of the law and the problems of the present system, an overview is given of the societal activities to turn the tide. The judiciary has started several local experiments to help overindebted citizens. Using the concept of societally effective courts the Council of the judiciary has backed this development. In the concluding part the author discusses several paths to improve the situation. First, the courts should organize themselves in such a way that debt collection and debt help are coordinated. Second, the courts must abandon their strict attitude towards the formalities for access that are now in place. The municipal assistance institutions should be given the possibility to suggest to the courts that their clients are ripe for a fresh start.

In the Dutch debt counseling system, a close collaboration between two trajectories, being voluntary debt settlements and debt settlements imposed by a judge, is vital for the overall success of the system. This article shows that this crucial collaboration is in fact poor, and negatively impacts the success of the debt counseling system. One of the underlying factors is the poor performance of the system as a whole. Although there is a common interest in reducing debts, the involved parties also have their own conflicting interests. The current system fails however to accomplish a tighter collaboration, and even sometimes seems to do the opposite. The authors conclude that a redesign of the Dutch system is necessary to organize a better and more coherent playing field.

In order to improve the effectiveness of offender supervision many studies have been conducted into risk factors for delinquency. Evidence was found that debts and crime are interrelated. However, understanding of potential underlying risk factors in this relationship is limited. Results of an analysis of client files (N=250) show that debts among probation clients are highly prevalent and problems with respect to education, work and mental and physical health seem to be important underlying factors in the relationship between debts and crime. In addition, interviews were conducted with both probation workers (N=33) and clients (N=16) to get insight into the possibilities to adequately support clients with regard to debts in order to stimulate successful resocialization. Results underline the importance of paying attention to possible underlying factors to effectively supervise clients.

In the Netherlands a large number of households is overindebted. Despite the economic prosperity, 20% of the households has to deal with large debts. Dissatisfaction with the position of debtors has grown in recent years. Numerous initiatives are being launched to improve their position. New legislation is provided for and municipalities are starting up all kinds of pilots. There is momentum for improvement. It is important that all initiatives are coordinated. In addition, it is also important to investigate what the legislation and initiatives yield.