Government and business start awareness campaign against cybercrime

Together with the business community, the government is launching an awareness campaign about cybercrime. During the ‘Check first, then click’ campaign, citizens are informed about what they should do to prevent cybercrime.

The campaign kicks off on Saturday. It is then National Safety Day. During the opening of the campaign, Minister Grapperhaus of Justice & Security and State Secretary Mona Keijzer of Economic Affairs sign a covenant called ‘Prevention of Cybercrime.’ It states that they promise to encourage people to protect themselves against cybercrime, by recommending virus scanners and password managers and by having backups made.

The campaign aims to draw attention to the rise in cybercrime, and to show how easy it is to become a victim of it. The government also wants to get rid of the stigma surrounding victimhood. “We have to get rid of the taboo on victimization of phishing. It can happen to anyone, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” says Grapperhaus before the start of the campaign. That’s a known issue; the police have received few reports of cybercrime from citizens for years, because they are ashamed or think that the police cannot do anything after all.

Dozens of industry organizations and municipalities are also involved in the campaign. Banks, ICT and internet companies are also joining the campaign. Among other things, the government pays attention to the campaign with television advertisements and messages on social media.