Physics

Pathology

Business

Disease

Cybercrime

Action (physics)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Homogeneous

Criminology

Internet privacy

The Internet

World Wide Web

Political science

Psychology

Computer science

Quantum mechanics

Medicine

Thermodynamics

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

The unprecedented changes in routine activities brought about by COVID-19 and the associated lockdown measures contributed to a reduction in opportunities for predatory crimes in outdoor physical spaces, while people spent more time connected to the internet, and opportunities for cybercrime and fraud increased. This article applies time-series analysis to historical data on cybercrime and fraud reported to Action Fraud in the United Kingdom to examine whether any potential increases are beyond normal crime variability. Furthermore, the discrepancies between fraud types and individual and organizational victims are also analyzed. The results show that while both total cybercrime and total fraud increased beyond predicted levels, the changes in victimization were not homogeneous across fraud types and victims. The implications of these findings on how changes in routine activities during COVID-19 have influenced cybercrime and fraud opportunities are discussed in relation to policy, practice, and academic debate.

Empty Streets, Busy Internet: A Time-Series Analysis of Cybercrime and Fraud Trends During COVID-19