News item | 14-12-2023 | 08:00
Research shows: three in five Dutch people sometimes receive a fake message that appears to come from a delivery service, many do not sufficiently check the sender
Beware of online criminals pretending to be a delivery service. New research by the government shows that three in five Dutch people have sometimes received a fake message that appears to come from a delivery service. The sender is often not checked: almost half of the people who sometimes receive fake messages hardly check such a message if a similar message is expected. Around the holidays, millions of Dutch people have their Christmas shopping delivered to their home. Among all the messages about the status of the delivery, a fake message is much less noticeable. With the campaign ‘Don’t let yourself be hacked’, the government calls on everyone to carefully check the sender of online messages and, if in doubt, click away.
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Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius:
“Online criminals abuse your good trust by pretending to be a well-known organization. These criminals know that many people are less likely to recognize a fake message if they actually expect a similar message at such a time. Especially in the busy month of December. That’s why I say: ‘don’t let yourself be hijacked’!”
Good of trust
The majority of Dutch people (85%) sometimes receive a fake message via email, text message or WhatsApp. Half even once or more times a month. Although almost nine in ten people (86%) say they check the sender if they doubt the reliability of an online message, almost half (43%) pay less attention when expecting a message from that alleged organization at that moment is becoming. Not without consequences, because people who pay less attention to checking click on a fake link almost three times as often.
Infected, hacked or money lost
Often people click on a fake link because the fake message seems credible or applies to them at the time. Three in ten sometimes click on such a link because they expect a package at that moment. The most common consequences of clicking on a fake link: an infected device (with a virus, malware or spyware) and financial damage. “Even if you expect a message from a company or government agency, it is important to stay alert and check the sender before clicking on a link in such a message,” says Frederiek Burlage, Cybercrime Specialist of the Police.
Don’t let yourself be hacked
The multi-year campaign by the Ministry of Justice and Security and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations calls on people to carefully check the sender of online messages and, if in doubt, click or swipe away. On Laatjenietinterneppen.nl people can find more information about how to recognize this type of online deception and what they can do about it.
About the research
The research was conducted in November 2023 by Verian (formerly Kantar Public) on behalf of the National Government. The representative sample consists of 1,033 Dutch people aged 18 and older. The research will be published next week.