Cybercrime: Three out of four users affected

Webwelt & Technik Bitkom study

75 percent affected – online crimes are becoming the norm

Status: 01:44 a.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

Thankfully, identity theft isn’t very common yet

Quelle: Getty Images/John Lamb

From computer viruses to identity theft to blackmail software: the vast majority of Germans have come into contact with cybercrime in the past year. This is a dramatic increase over previous years.

Dhe majority of internet users in Germany were affected by online crime in 2022. According to a representative survey by the digital association Bitkom, which is exclusively available to WELT AM SONNTAG, three out of four respondents had a similar experience that year.

“Anyone who moves on the Internet must expect to meet cyber criminals,” says Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder. Therefore, all online users should take protective measures. “This ranges from using secure passwords to installing virus protection software and passing on personal information sparingly,” says Rohleder.

In recent years, the reach of cybercrime has increased dramatically. While in 2022 only 22 percent stated that they had not had such an experience, in 2019 it was still 40 percent and in 2020 at least one in three. According to their own statements, only 21 percent would be spared from cybercrime by 2021.

Read more about cybercrime

The range is large. Almost every second user reports that personal data was passed on without being asked. Almost 30 percent experienced fraud when shopping online and 13 percent in financial transactions such as internet banking. Computer viruses also continue to find their victims: a good quarter of those surveyed are affected, and this applies to 17 percent on smartphones.

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Three percent have experienced identity theft – when criminals impersonate themselves online. According to the survey, however, private experiences with so-called ransomware are the exception. This is malware that attackers use to take control of computers and networks and encrypt files in order to extort a ransom from those affected if the encryption is to be reversed. Only one in 100 computer users reports such an attack, twice as often on smartphones.

Internet crime: Hardly any reports to the police

According to the survey, not even one in five victims of cybercrime filed a criminal complaint with the police. A third of those affected did not even react to the incidents at all, and at least half sought to talk to friends and acquaintances. “Anyone who becomes a victim of a crime should report it,” says Bitkom. This is often also possible online.

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In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.

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