When discussing the concepts of crime and cybercrime, their victims are important key players to understand why these criminal acts takes place. More importantly, with these players taken into...Show moreWhen discussing the concepts of crime and cybercrime, their victims are important key players to understand why these criminal acts takes place. More importantly, with these players taken into account, it is not only possible to understand this concept but also to predict and prevent the crimes that take place. In this thesis, the research focuses on individual victims of cybercrime in the Netherlands and their behavioural characteristics. The aim of this research is to study which behavioural risk factors have a predictive value for victimization, both in the offline as the online world. To answer this question, I designed a digital survey to compare two types of crime; one in the offline world and one in the online world. These two criminal acts have in common that they are comparable with each other, with the only difference that they take place in different worlds. The chosen criminal acts are doorstep scams in the offline world, and phishing in the online world. A scientific literature review, the data collected from the digital questionnaire and the subsequent analysis will answer the sub-questions of this research. It seemed that certain risk factors like socio-economic status, online activities, optimism bias, loneliness, capable guardianship and offline victimization had a significant correlation with victimization. For the factors optimism bias, capable guardianship and loneliness, these results had even a predictive value. Although there is quite an amount of scientific research available on risk factors and victimization, this research shows that there is still not enough knowledge about the behaviour of victims. This is because the studied risk factors have little to do with the actual behaviour of potential victims. Researchers must take a step back to study which existing theories should be better investigated for the existence of other, potential risk factors. With a descent description and formulation of the new risk factors, it would be easier in the future to reduce online and offline victimization based on these risk factors.Show less
When discussing the concepts of crime and cybercrime, their victims are important key players to understand why these criminal acts takes place. More importantly, with these players taken into...Show moreWhen discussing the concepts of crime and cybercrime, their victims are important key players to understand why these criminal acts takes place. More importantly, with these players taken into account, it is not only possible to understand this concept but also to predict and prevent the crimes that take place. In this thesis, the research focuses on individual victims of cybercrime in the Netherlands and their behavioural characteristics. The aim of this research is to study which behavioural risk factors have a predictive value for victimization, both in the offline as the online world. To answer this question, I designed a digital survey to compare two types of crime; one in the offline world and one in the online world. These two criminal acts have in common that they are comparable with each other, with the only difference that they take place in different worlds. The chosen criminal acts are doorstep scams in the offline world, and phishing in the online world. A scientific literature review, the data collected from the digital questionnaire and the subsequent analysis will answer the sub-questions of this research. It seemed that certain risk factors like socio-economic status, online activities, optimism bias, loneliness, capable guardianship and offline victimization had a significant correlation with victimization. For the factors optimism bias, capable guardianship and loneliness, these results had even a predictive value. Although there is quite an amount of scientific research available on risk factors and victimization, this research shows that there is still not enough knowledge about the behaviour of victims. This is because the studied risk factors have little to do with the actual behaviour of potential victims. Researchers must take a step back to study which existing theories should be better investigated for the existence of other, potential risk factors. With a descent description and formulation of the new risk factors, it would be easier in the future to reduce online and offline victimization based on these risk factors.Show less
