Belgians favorite target cybercriminals

- Nine percent of Belgian Internet users last year lost money through phishing and fake websites. In the Netherlands, the percentage is only two percent, according to figures from Eurostat.

That Belgians often than other Europeans fall into the trap of coming cybercriminals experts note that cybercriminals becoming more professional to proceed and our southern neighbors are not used that criminals have their coined.

'In other countries such as England or Germany, people are more accustomed to reliable-looking phishing emails in their own language. That the credible Dutch- and French-language phishing emails to a sharp rise engaged, may explain why Belgians are having a hard time, 'explains Eddy Willems, security specialist at GData in the Belgian newspaper De Tijd.

ICT specialist Matthias Dobbelaere-Welvaert of consulting firm The Lawyers notes that the Belgian authorities hardly does anything to make people aware of the dangers. 'The neighboring countries carry much more active campaign and that is paying off. '

It also does not help that Belgium has hardly any e-commerce companies. Belgians who want to make online purchases, are therefore dependent on foreign shops. Dobbelaere-Welvaert believes that this makes them more susceptible to fraudulent websites abroad.

Belgians are alert to fraud with bank cards. Only one percent is money lost to fraud with credit and debit cards and equal to the EU average. With the bank card fraud included one in ten Belgians last year kwijgetraakt money through Internet fraud.