Cybercrime a'la russe: the recent trens in victimization and official registration of online and wire property crimes

• In Event: Cyber victims

Abstract

This paper compares official statistics on registered and investigated online property crimes with the findings from victimization surveys, specifically the three waves of the RCVS 2018, 2021, 2024-2025. Both data sources indicate that the number of online property crimes in Russia increased. However, the extent of this increase differs between the victimization survey results and the official data. The official statistics significantly underestimate the rates of wire and cyber property victimization among individuals, primarily due to a high number of unreported crimes, with more than half of victims choosing not to report to the police. Additionally, there are "grey figures" related to online and wire property crime; fewer than one in five victim reports are officially registered. Finally, in Russia, official statistics on cyber property crime partially reflect a new trend of displacement, where "traditional" thefts and face-to-face frauds are being replaced by crimes committed online.

Authors

• Dmitrii Serebrennikov, Institute for the Rule of Law at the European University at Saint-Petersburg; Maqsut Narikbayev Institute for Network and Development; Kazakhstan Sociology Lab

• Ekaterina Khodzhaeva, European University at Saint Petersburg