ABSTRACT The present study examines the impact of ransomware against Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices. NAS devices are external harddrives which are usually easily accessible through the internet. We analyse 502 ransomware attacks reported to the Dutch Police between 2019 and 2022, of which 104 (20.7%) targeted NAS devices. These attacks targeted both companies as individuals. Furthermore, we examine the police intervention against a NAS ransomware strain in October 2022. One limitation of this sample is possible low willingness to report to the Police. We conclude that, although the financial impact of an attack on an individual is relatively low compared to an attack against an organisation, the loss of personal pictures and videos can be very painful for victims and therefore we think it is important to address NAS ransomware in the public debate.

ABSTRACT Adolescents represent an emerging population at risk of identity theft, yet little is known about their engagement in preventive behaviours. Using data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents who participated in the National Crime Victimization Survey – Identity Theft Supplement (NCVS-ITS), this study examined the prevalence of six identity theft-related preventive behaviours and assessed the influence of demographic and contextual factors on the likelihood of engaging in these practices. Descriptive findings revealed low overall adoption of preventive behaviours, even among adolescents with financial accounts. Logistic regression analyses indicated that having a checking/savings account and, to a lesser extent, owning a credit card were the most consistent and significant predictors of engagement in preventive behaviours. Age and household income also emerged as significant predictors in several models, while race, gender, and ethnicity were largely nonsignificant. The implications of the findings are discussed.

ABSTRACT This paper assesses the usability of open-source intelligence (OSINT) – in particular, public business registers – for investigating organised crime group infiltration of legal markets. While OSINT can be easier to access than data from traditional closed sources, there are doubts about its reliability. To investigate the utility of this new data source, data was collected from an Italian pre-trial detention order and the Italian business register to construct networks representing an `Ndrangheta group involved in penetrating legal-market businesses. Results suggest that OSINT offers several advantages over traditional closed sources and works as a proxy when considering local network structures. However, OSINT network data face challenges when operating as a proxy for closed-source police data networks to identify key actors and reproduce global metrics. OSINT network data from business registers are valuable for investigating infiltration of legal-market businesses, although researchers must use them to answer questions to which they are well suited.

ABSTRACT Fear of crime research is a longstanding literature, and many scholars have investigated the relationship between victimisation and fear of crime. Although extensive research has investigated the victimisation-fear relationship in both traditional and cyber victimisation, no literature has yet investigated whether victimisation experiences in either context may be related to fear of crime in the other. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, we examine the relationships between online, offline, and multiple-context victimisation and fear of crime both online and offline. OLS regression results indicate that context-specific victimisation experiences are not related to fear of crime cross-contextually, but that multiple-context victimisation is related to greater fear of crime in all contexts. Experiencing a greater number of victimisation types is related to a greater general fear of crime but shows evidence of stronger relationships within context. Results also show differences in fear of crime across gender, race, and political ideology.

ABSTRACT The spread of illegally manufactured fentanyl (IMF) has been a public health disaster in Canada and the United States, driving overdose deaths to unprecedented levels. It has also changed the production function for drug traffickers, most notably by radically reducing raw materials costs for those producing illegal opioids. This paper explores possible consequences of that cost reduction through the eyes of the actors who comprise the drug supply chain, including Chinese firms who supply Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) with the precursors of fentanyl, the TCOs responsible for manufacturing fentanyl and shipping it across the U.S. border, the multiple layers of the domestic drug distribution network, along with the money launderers who help facilitate this illegal market. This paper then sketches potential long-run implications for the structure, conduct and performance of the illegal opioid supply industry, and some potential consequences for drug law enforcement organisations.

ABSTRACT Human trafficking remains a critical global development and security concern, but the specific dynamics affecting Bangladeshi citizens are underexplored. This qualitative study draws on 35 in-depth interviews with survivors and experts to examine how traffickers target individuals’ socio-economic vulnerabilities by making false promises of legitimate employment, better income, and brighter prospects abroad. Traffickers employ deceptive ‘soft’ recruitment tactics, which lead to forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and financial abuse, all enforced through threats, violence, and coercion. Survivors recount traumatic experiences, including confiscation of documents, constant surveillance, hazardous conditions, and repeated physical and psychological abuse. The findings underscore how socioeconomic factors drive migration and elevate individuals’ susceptibility to exploitation. The study calls for targeted interventions, strong protective legislation, and international cooperation to address the root causes of trafficking and support victims, aligning its recommendations with global priorities like SDG 1, SDG 5, and SDG 8.

ABSTRACT This case study examines the recent increase in criminal violence and diversification of illegal markets in Chile, a country historically considered safe in Latin America. The objective is to discern if this was due to the rise of organised crime (OC) from domestic criminal organisations or to the establishment of transnational predatory organised crime (POC) amidst a recent wave of immigration. We develop a multidimensional analysis of official reports, press, crime statistics and geographic evolution of crime between 2017 and 2022. Results indicate that endemic OC has intensified in forestry regions and marginal neighbourhoods, but the emergence of violent crime conglomerates in downtowns of major cities is associated with POC that preys on immigrant communities. We conclude that both domestic and foreign OC are growing threats. Policy implications include the need to reinforce financial investigation capacities, coordinating agencies against OC and preventive social policies with special attention to immigrants.

ABSTRACT This exploratory study assesses the correlates of adult cyber-harassment victimisation. Using data from an original survey of Canadian adults aged 25 or older (N = 948), we present descriptive and multivariate analyses which demonstrate that cyber-harassment does extend into adulthood and has significant impacts that should not be trivialised as youthful deviance. Linear regression modelling indicates that higher rates of victimisation are predicted by age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, financial insecurity, internet use behaviours, and privacy calculus, which together suggest that experiences of cyber-harassment may intersect with broader inequalities and experiences of marginalisation. Additional logistic regression modelling shows that gender, internet use behaviours, and fear of victimisation are factors associated with support seeking behaviours and reporting one’s victimisation to the police. Overall, our findings add to the larger existing literature on youth victims and suggest that adult cyber-harassment is an overlooked issue that requires more scholarly attention to better inform broader responsive policies.

ABSTRACT We examine whether and how short-term changes in online and offline activities – in particular unstructured socialising - relate to changes in online (cyber-dependent, cyber-enabled) and offline offending. We analyse two-wave longitudinal data from 725 Dutch students in secondary or tertiary IT-education, employing hybrid models to distinguish within-person effects from between-person differences. Overall, results indicate that within-person changes in offline unstructured socialising with friends at home are related to within-person changes in all forms of offending. For cyber-dependent crime, changes in forum use were also related to changes in offending. Surprisingly, changes in other forms of online time use (e.g. gaming, using a phone/tablet, using social media) appear to have no significant effects. However, between-person analyses reveal that online and offline activities are to some extent related to between-person differences in offending, but not always as expected, illustrating the complexity of the interplay between online and offline offending and activities.

ABSTRACT Mapping transnational cocaine flows remains challenging due to fragmented and unreliable datasets, limiting understanding of trafficking structures. To address this, we integrate two distinct sources – the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Individual Drug Seizures and the United States’ International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports – to construct and compare 9 years of global cocaine trafficking networks. Using social network analysis, we replicate and extend previous appraoches to assess how data integration mitigates or amplifies reportng biases. Our findings show that merging these datasets enhances network cohesion, identifies overlooked transit hubs, and clarifies countries’ roles in trafficking. However, dataset limitations and geopolitical biases distort observed flows, necessitating careful interpretation. We advocate for broader data supplementation, including regional intelligence briefs and local field reports, and recommend weighted and multiplex network approaches to better capture trafficking complexities and improve the empirical foundations of illicit drug flow research.