Citizens suffered more financial loss from crime in 2023
The Safety Monitor is a survey on safety and the victims of crime conducted by CBS and the Ministry of Justice and Security and published every two years. A total of 182 thousand residents of the Netherlands aged 15 years or older answered questions about, among other things, financial losses they suffered due to crime in 2023.
4.7 million crimes involving financial loss
In 2023, a total of 4.7 million crimes were committed against citizens that involved financial loss. That was up by half a million from 2021. The theft of money or belongings was involved in 77 percent of those crimes, while 23 percent were cases of vandalism. Fraud in online purchases was mentioned the most frequently at 1.3 million offences, but there was no change in this area since 2021. In half of these cases, the losses caused were less than 60 euros.
In 2023, 928 bicycles were stolen, 30 percent more than in 2021. Half of the bikes stolen were worth less than 350 euros. Pickpocketing, theft from cars and bicycle vandalism were also more common in 2023 than in 2021.
More victims of bank fraud
Respondents said they had been the victims of 110 thousand cases of bank payment fraud. This is when criminals gain access to the victim's bank account, for instance by stealing their payment card and obtaining their PIN. In half of these cases, the loss involved was less than 300 euros. Banking fraud was more common in 2023 than in 2021, but the damage per offence was lower.
Another type of fraud occurs when the victim transfers money to a criminal who is impersonating someone else, for example. This affected 74 thousand people, the same number as in 2021. In half of cases, the loss involved in these offences was less than 400 euros.
Highest losses due to bicycle theft and vandalism
Stolen bicycles and vandalised cars caused the most financial loss among citizens in 2023. Bicycle theft resulted in 698 million euros in losses, and damage to vandalised cars amounted to 483 million euros.
In 2023, 22 percent of total financial losses concerned crimes committed online, up from 28 perent in 2021. Purchase fraud led to the largest losses among citizens at 247 million euros. Financial losses due to payment fraud were also relatively high.
| 2023 (million euros) | |
|---|---|
| Car or bicycle theft | |
| Bicycle | 698 |
| Car | 183 |
| Other | 63 |
| Other types of theft | |
| Home burglary | 256 |
| Of items in a car | 145 |
| Of car parts | 95 |
| Pickpocketing | 82 |
| Other | 207 |
| Online property crime | |
| Purchase fraud | 247 |
| Non-banking payment fraud | 196 |
| Bank payment fraud | 179 |
| Sales fraud | 49 |
| Other | 36 |
| Vandalism | |
| Car | 483 |
| due to home burglary | 121 |
| Home, other | 71 |
| Bicycle | 19 |
| Garden | 16 |
| Other motor vehicles | 7 |
| Other | 37 |
Damage from bicycle theft and pickpocketing up by 50 percent
Total losses from bicycle theft and pickpocketing increased by the most. Losses suffered due to those crimes in 2023 were around one and a half times higher than in 2021.
The number of bank fraud offences increased in 2023 compared with 2021, but the amounts involved were usually smaller. As a result, total losses remained at around the same level.
| Soort diefstal | 2023 (million euros) | 2021 (adjusted for price changes) (million euros) |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycle | 698 | 465 |
| Pickpocketing | 82 | 52 |
Victims were compensated for 38 percent of financial damage
Financial service providers such as banks, insurance companies and credit card companies paid out a total of 1.2 billion euros in compensation for victims’ financial losses, which was 38 percent of the total amount lost, according to the victims.
In relative terms, the most losses were compensated in banking payment fraud; financial services companies paid victims 80 percent of the total losses they had suffered. A large proportion of damage to stolen cars was also compensated.