Internet Fraud Triples in Flanders: 61 Victims Per Day

Internet fraud has more than tripled in Flanders over the past decade, with police recording 22,296 official cases in 2024 — an average of at least 61 victims per day, according to data from the Federal Police criminal statistics published by Het Laatste Nieuws. The actual number of victims is believed to be significantly higher, as many cases go unreported.

The Scale of the Problem

The figures, compiled by HLN data journalist Ines Penders, reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 served as a critical turning point. With millions of Belgians confined to their homes and glued to screens, cybercriminals seized the opportunity — and the surge has never fully subsided.

Classic phishing emails remain the primary driver of internet fraud, but authorities warn that fake online shops, “friend in distress” scams, and even funeral fraud targeting bereaved families are on the rise. The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) acknowledges that the true scale is impossible to measure. “That’s also the principle of a ‘dark number’. You simply cannot see it,” Katrien Eggers, CCB spokesperson, told HLN.

Provincial data shows stark disparities. Limburg experienced the most explosive growth, with a 326.3% increase in internet fraud cases over ten years. On a per-capita basis, Geraardsbergen (6.5 cases per 1,000 residents), Koksijde (6.3), Lebbeke (6.3), and Wetteren (6.0) recorded the highest rates. Only the Limburg municipality of Herstappe reported zero official cases.

Beyond Phishing: The Broader Cybercrime Wave

Internet fraud is only part of the picture. In 2024, police opened 34,989 cases of general IT crime in Flanders, with nearly 80% involving computer fraud — including malware, stolen payment data, and invoice manipulation. The FOD Economie reports a 35% increase in online fraud cases between 2019 and 2023, with nearly 40 million euros stolen via phishing in Belgium in 2023 alone.

The Link to Organized Crime

Perhaps the most alarming development is the growing entanglement of phishing with organized drug crime. Catherine Van de Heyning, public prosecutor in Antwerp, told VRT NWS that the same criminal networks are now operating across both domains. “We see that gangs fish from the same pools. They deploy young people one day to pull drugs from containers, the next day to collect cards at doors for phishing,” she said.

The financial stakes are enormous. Families in Antwerp province lost 60 million euros to phishing in 2025, with 7,500 complaints filed. In the first two months of 2026 alone, the province recorded nearly 10 million euros in damages and 800 new cases. “It’s becoming more professional, faster, and more aggressive,” Van de Heyning warned.

AI: Old Wine in New Bottles

Artificial intelligence is supercharging existing fraud methods. According to the CCB’s Katrien Eggers, “Regarding new forms of fraud, we mainly see ‘old wine in new AI bottles’. The same types of fraud are made more credible by AI and deployed on a larger scale.” AI-generated voice calls can now mimic accents with startling accuracy, and automated systems can place thousands of calls simultaneously.

A System Under Strain

Local police feel overwhelmed. Tom Smets, chief of police for Police Zone Rode, described the situation as “mopping with the tap running as a local police zone. We can only take preventive measures and warn people about the dangers of cybercrime, but the problem requires a global approach.”

In more than six out of ten cases, perpetrators escape prosecution, usually because they cannot be identified. The anonymity of the internet, combined with cross-border money flows, makes investigation extremely difficult.

Institutional Responses

In response, authorities are developing new tools. The Phishline app, launched in December 2025 in East and West Flanders, automates the process of freezing suspicious money flows. Provincial Governor Carina Van Cauter, who coordinated the project, explained to VRT NWS that previously, “a police report had to be manually converted into a requisition for the public prosecutor’s office. By the time it was ready, the money had often already been transferred to other accounts, sometimes abroad. That process is now almost fully automated.”

Meanwhile, the CCB’s Safeonweb platform received 9.9 million reports of suspicious messages in 2025, enabling experts to neutralize over 176,000 fraudulent links and 40,800 malicious websites, protecting potential victims an estimated 200 million times.

What to Watch For

As AI continues to evolve and phishing kits become available for as little as 150 euros, the barrier to entry for cybercriminals has never been lower. The CCB emphasizes the importance of community solidarity. “Everyone should ask for help when in doubt, and offer help to friends and family who are less digitally resilient,” Eggers said.

With the intertwining of phishing and drug crime bringing increased violence — including home invasions and intimidation — the challenge facing Belgian authorities is no longer purely digital. It has become a test of whether law enforcement can adapt to a criminal landscape where the line between the physical and virtual worlds has all but disappeared.