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Double, triple or quadruple hits? Exploring the impact of cybercrime on victims in the Netherlands

Notté, Raoul ; Leukfeldt, E.R. ; Malsch, Marijke (2021) — International Review of Victimology

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DOI: 10.1177/02697580211010692 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Netherlands
Tags:   AI-Enabled Fraud, Cybercrime Victimization, Dating Fraud, Financial Loss, Law Enforcement, Measurement, Online Fraud, Online Persistence, Police Response, Prevention, Psychological Harm, Victim Blaming, Victim Experience
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Synopsis

            
This publication investigates how online crime affects victims, focusing on the Netherlands. Its purpose is to explore the nature and extent of online victimisation and to compare its impact with that of traditional offline crime. The study draws on both a literature review and an empirical set of 41 interviews: 19 with victims and 22 with experts, including police, victim-support organizations, and researchers. The authors situate cybercrime as encompassing both cyber-dependent crimes (eg, hacking, ransomware) and cyber-enabled crimes (eg, online fraud, online stalking), and they frame the inquiry around the types and duration of impact rather than assigning impact to specific offences. The results indicate that many impacts of online offences resemble those of offline crime, especially in financial, psychological, and emotional domains. Financial consequences were common among victims, with direct losses ranging from hundreds to more than €200,000 and indirect costs such as time spent resolving issues or reputational harm. Psychological and emotional effects were also prevalent, including loss of trust, guilt, shame, stress, and, in some cases, severe distress or suicidal ideation. The study highlights forms of impact that appear unique to online crime, notably the scale and visibility of victimization, its potential to persist without time limits, the interwoven nature of online and offline experiences, and the tendency for victims to be blamed or blamed themselves. A key caveat is that the sample is small and the findings are exploratory, not generalizable to all cybercrime victims. The authors call for further research into public discourse, policing, and victim-support practices, and they note that the online context can complicate prevention and response, though it may also aid detection. The limitations section emphasizes the need for broader, longitudinal inquiry to clarify long-term effects.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The impact of cybercrime victimization is described as understudied despite its prevalence. The authors identify limited knowledge of impacts specific to online crime, including persistent victimization, large-scale visibility, online-offline interweaving, and victim blaming. They also identify a need to understand the psychological effects of prolonged deceptive online environments and public discourse affecting police and victim-support responses.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
Exploratory qualitative study in the Netherlands combining a literature review with interviews of 19 adult cybercrime victims and 22 experts. A literature-derived topic list guided open and follow-up questions on incident experiences, financial, emotional, social, and institutional impacts. Victims represented cyber-dependent, financial, interpersonal, and sexual cybercrime categories; interview data were compared with expert perspectives and prior literature.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The small, nonrepresentative sample prevents generalization to all cybercrime victims. The authors designed the study as exploratory and qualitative, intended to identify potential impacts rather than estimate their prevalence. Victim recruitment was difficult because some prospective participants found reflecting on their experiences emotionally difficult, which may have affected sample composition.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Study cybercrime-specific impacts, especially long-term effects. Examine the psychological effects of living within a prolonged, convincing constructed deception. Investigate dominant public discourse about cybercrime victimization and how it affects police and victim-support practice, including victim blaming and perceived responsibility.

          

              

    
    

        
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