Dutch people do not recognize online scams (but think they do)

Research shows that many Dutch people think they can recognize online scams, but this often turns out not to be the case.

Dutch people often do not recognize online scams

The relevant research was carried out on behalf of the Dutch Government Verian. The research shows that nine out of ten Dutch people do not always recognize online scams. According to the research, nine out of ten Dutch people (94 percent) ‘do not always’ recognize online scams. Only 6 percent succeed every time.

Nevertheless, half of the participating Dutch people wrongly believe that they are good or even very good at recognizing online scams. This means that as many as 42 percent clearly overestimate themselves. That will be music to the ears of cybercriminals.

Young people in particular are going wrong

Surprisingly, it appears to be mainly Dutch people under the age of 34 who overestimate themselves. This group is more likely to click on links from scammers than people over 55. At the same time, they most often indicate that they are (very) good at recognizing online scams.

According to Foort van Oosten, Minister of Justice and Security, online scams are becoming increasingly difficult to recognize. He says: “Because the difference between real and not real is so small and many people overestimate themselves, we run more risk than we often think. And that is precisely why it can happen to anyone.”

Don’t let yourself be hacked

The research was conducted as part of the government campaign ‘Don’t let yourself be hacked‘, which has been running since 2023. The participating Dutch people were shown messages via email, text message, WhatsApp, websites and social media, which are comparable to messages you may encounter in everyday life. Consider a message from a webshop or a postal company. Half of the participants were shown the real versions, the other half the fake versions that were created together with the hacker foundation DIVD have been developed.

Do you always want to stay informed about online scams? Then sign up for our newsletter!