2.2 million cybercrime victims in 2022

In 2022 a share of 8 percent among the population aged 15 and over were victims of online scams and fraud, particularly purchase fraud (6 percent). Five percent experienced hacking while 4 percent encountered online threats and harassment.

Young people were the most frequent victims of the latter form. Among 15 to 24-year-olds, one in five said they had faced online threats, bullying, stalking or shamesexting, i.e. a form of sexually transgressive behaviour where nude photos or videos of the victim are distributed or threatened to be distributed.

30 percent feel less safe after encountering online crime

For 37 percent of cybercrime victims, the incident in 2022 led to less trust in other people; 30 percent felt or feel less safe as a result. Sleep problems, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and reliving the incident over and over again were each mentioned by 7 to 8 percent of victims.

Looking at specific forms of online crime, the latter complaints were reported by victims of online threats and harassment more than twice as often as victims of the other online crimes.

2 in 10 victims notify and report to the police

Over half of the cybercrime victims have reported it somewhere: to the police, professional social workers, family members, relatives or friends. A share of 21 percent reported what had happened to them to the police.

Almost all cybercrime reporting to the police resulted in an official police report (19 percent). The most frequently cited reason for not reporting the incident to the police (and filing a report) is that it did not occur to the victim or the victim did not think it important, followed by 'it doesn't help anyway'.