**2.6 Cybercrime**

Within the digital economy the economic and financial crimes face new dimensions under the form of cybercrime. According to the Digital Economy Society Index determined by European Commission [25], all the five components of digital economy have increased on average among the EU countries. We refer to connectivity, human capital, use of internet, integration of internet technologies and digital public services. Over the past years, all the EU countries have improved their digital performances. However, many gaps are still found between the two blocks: Central and Eastern European economies and Western economies. According to the data from the Digital Economy Society Index provided by European Commission [25], Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most advanced digital economies in the European Union while Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Italy have the lowest level of digitization.

Despite the well-known benefits of digitalization there also are negative consequences for facing the abusive use of technology to generate financial benefits - in the form of **cybercrime.** According to the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), an initiative of the International Telecommunication Union [26], Malta, Greece, Romania, the Czech Republic and Cyprus are the most vulnerable countries in terms of cyber attacks. The lowest risk of cyber attacks is found in France, Lithuania, Estonia and Spain (**Figure 10**).

Related to cyber attacks, the number of malware applications developed in the last 10 years has highly increased (according with the data of [27]).

Cybercrime has been counteracted over time by investments in IT equipment in order to be protected against these risks. This statistic shows the global spending on cybersecurity during the last 4 years. In 2019, the spending in the cybersecurity industry reached about 40.8 billion U.S. dollars, with forecasts suggesting that the market will reach 43 billion by 2020 as the best-case scenario, taking into account the coronavirus' (COVID-19) impact.

Concerning the perceptions about the development of cybercrime risks in the European Union, according to a recent study conducted by the European Commission [28], 76 percent of respondents stated that they agree with the following statement: "Do you believe the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime is increasing?"

Similarly, according to a big study conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights [29], more than one in two people in the EU (55%) are

**Figure 10.**

*Global cybersecurity index in European Union countries, 2018. Source: Own calculations based on global cybersecurity index provided by international telecommunication union [26].*

concerned about their online data – the information they share on the internet/social media – being accessed by criminals and fraudsters. According to the same study, one in four people in the EU (24%) are very worried about the unauthorised use of their online bank account or credit/debit card details in the following 12 months. In addition to that, 6 of 10 persons are very to somewhat worried about these risks.

Regarding experiencing cyberharassment and in-person harassment, the same previous study shows that 1 in 7 people in the EU (14%) have experienced cyberharassment in the five years before the survey. Nevertheless, experiencing in-person harassment remains more common than cyberharassment. However, the highest percentages of online harassment are registered in France, the Netherlands and Austria (58%, 55% and 53% respectively). At the opposite pole, registering lower levels of cyberharassment and in-person harassment, Hungary, Cyprus, Italy, Poland, Malta, Romania and Bulgaria are found. We may note that within the developed countries where human rights are more valuable, the levels of cyberharassment and in-person harassment are significantly higher than within the developing countries where the human rights are less valuable. According to ACFE [17], in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cybercrime risk registers a significant increase. In May 2020, 45 percent of respondents reported a significant increase in cyber fraud risk. Additionally, 60 percent of respondents expected a significant increase in cyber fraud risk over the next 12 months.

When we analyse the average cost of cybercrime by domains in 2020, we find that the highest value of cybercrime cost is registered in healthcare (about 7.13 mil \$), followed by the energy, financial and pharmaceutical fields, while the global average cost of a data breach is 3.86 million U.S. dollars [27].

What motivates hackers? According to the 2020 Hacker Report provided by Hackerone [30] more than a half of cyber-attacks (about 53%) are financially motivated while only 13% have an interest to the national state. However, when we talk about the average cost of cybercrime, the cyber attacks towards the national state face the highest cost (4.43 mil \$), followed by the other reasons.

### **2.7 Financial frauds**

In the view of the aforementioned, one of the main reasons of the hackers is related to getting financial benefits which could be in the form of thefts from

#### **Figure 11.**

*Card fraud losses in Europe in 2019, by country (total values, in million euros). Source: Own calculations based on data provided by fair Isaac Corporation [31] https://www.fico.com/europeanfraud/ regional-shifts*

*Economic and Financial Crimes and the Development of Society DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96269*

customers' bank accounts. Regarding the total value of card fraud losses in Europe, the United Kingdom holds the first position (with 706.9 million euros) followed at a fairly long distance by France (440.9 million euros) and then Germany and Spain (with about 91 million euros) (**Figure 11**).

Romania has a very small level of card fraud losses compared to the other EU countries. However, when we check for the evolution of the value of card fraud losses there is a significant increase year after year. Actually, the value of card fraud losses has doubled in the last 5 years and achieved the value of 2.85 millions euros [27].

All in all, the general rate of economic crimes in Romania is 42% in 2018, meaning that 42% of the companies have been victims of at least one fraud in the past period [32].
