Recommendation paper: How online fraud works and how to prevent it

Online fraud continues to be a prominent issue in Europe and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, a lot of information is available about how (online) fraud works and how these scams can be prevented.
If we want to design effective crime prevention initiatives, using the available intelligence is key. This paper puts forward some general concepts and tools to do precisely this. 
Several tools that can be implemented in crime prevention initiatives can also serve as a source of inspiration when building new projects or can be implemented within existing ones. Online fraud is characterised by a high degree of flexibility on the part of the offenders, enabling them to adapt to changing circumstances. The information in this paper allows you to develop scientifically backed responses to them in kind.

Published by the EUCPN Secretariat, February 2023