All play, no wins: crime scripting cryptofrauds

• In Event: Digital Criminology: Security and Safety in Digital Environments

Abstract

Cryptocurrency is rocketing in recent years as one of the most preferred choices for investments. Lured by the staggering profits made by investors in Bitcoin also the general public is finding its way to investing in cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, this also results in criminals taking advantage of the lack of knowledge of investors in the functioning of the blockchain in general and cryptocurrency in particular as well of the media coverage on the ‘cryptoboom’. The stark increase of files of crypto fraud poses new challenges to law enforcement, including the lack of generalised knowledge on cryptocurrency investigations among police, the intrinsic cross-border nature of this fraud and the reliance on third parties for data. From a capacity perspective, it is needed to fully understand these crypto scams to determine the investigatory challenges and needs. This research analyses complaints of cryptocurrency filed by the police in 2024 in the Antwerp area in Belgium relying on crime scripting. The research intends to develop the main crime scripts applied in crypto scams and juxtapose these scripts to the investigatory capacities of law enforcement. The purpose is to identify the main challenges for investigation in crypto fraud cases.

Authors

• Catherine Van de Heyning, University of Antwerp

• Wannes Donies, Public Ministry Antwerp

• Christophe Van Bortel, Belgium Police