Recruiting co-offenders for financial cybercrime: an analysis of police investigations into cybercriminal networks

Luuk Bekkers, Rutger Leukfeldt, Edward Kleemans

The aim of the current study is to better understand how financial cybercriminal networks recruit co-offenders. We address important knowledge gaps, as not much is known about pathways into cybercrime due to a lack of research. More knowledge can be used in practice in the context of cybercrime offender prevention. For these purposes, we analyzed 15 closed police investigations into cybercriminal networks from the Netherlands, in accordance with the approach of the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor. This is a valuable and well-established research methodology to study criminal activities of which little is known. Analysis revealed that core members need a variety of co-offenders to successfully commit financial cybercrimes such as phishing and online consumer fraud. These co-offenders can be categorized as professional facilitators, recruited facilitators, and money mules. They were approached on social media, especially on Telegram and Snapchat, as well as in the physical world. Some were promised a financial reward and were actually paid out the money, but others were manipulated and possibly forced to cooperate under threats of violence. It was not always necessary for cybercriminal networks to actively reach out, as co-offenders also found their way to the network. Taken together, our study indicates there are various offline and online pathways into cybercrime, and that cybercrime offenders apply different strategies to recruit co-offenders.

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Meer leren van Luuk Bekkers? Waar ligt uw burgemeester wakker van? Kom 1 juli naar de editie Oost-Nederland van het HCB Seminar De Veilige Gemeente, deze keer over actuele on- en offline risico’s in uw gemeente. Met aandacht voor hackers en online fraudeurs, explosies, jonge criminelen, de impact van online op offline, polarisatie & radicalisering en personen met onbegrepen gedrag. Ook gaan we in op een integrale aanpak, het delen van kennis- en informatie en de regelgeving daarbij. Kijk voor meer informatie en inschrijving op haagscongresbureau.nl. Met onder andere Luuk Bekkers (onderzoeker, Haagse Hogeschool), Tuncay Yarlugbas (Teamchef, Politie IJsselland-Zuid) en Ben Braun (Netwerker Zorg en Veiligheid, Reinier van Arkel).