Dutch Police Tackle Teenage Cybercrime with 'Gamechangers'

Amid growing concerns and evidence of an increase in teenage cybercrime during lockdown, Holland’s national police force have once again enlisted the help of FCB Amsterdam to create a digital campaign that will prevent Dutch teens from turning to cybercrime. 

The current global pandemic is forcing young people across Europe to stay at home, for many of them this means spending much more time online. As boredom takes over, young people are more inclined to push the boundaries and engage in online crime. Gamechangers is a digital campaign aimed at 12 to 18 year olds which encourages them to take part in online challenges. The challenges have been designed to teach teenagers about the dangers of cybercrime and how to recognise the signs before unintentionally becoming a perpetrator themselves. 

Dutch research shows that one in six young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have committed a cybercrime, either consciously or unconsciously. For those between the ages of 16 and 17 this rises to 33 percent. These crimes often include hacking, phishing and DDoS attacks. Young people may be more likely to commit cyber offences because they don’t fully understand the real-life consequences of their online actions. The police want to educate young people so they may avoid falling for the false sense of anonymity the internet offers. 

This is the second time that Dutch police have engaged FCB Amsterdam to develop a digital campaign based on helping steer teens away from cybercrime. These teenagers are connected by nationwide lockdown, by their online skills but also by their outlook on life; they want to make positive change in the world. By offering these challenges, FCB Amsterdam and the Dutch police are steering them away from the criminal path and teaching them to put their online skills to better use. 

The digital platform www.changeyourgame.nl has been set up so that teenagers can further develop their online talents in four safe challenges. The challenges can be played alone or with other local teens. By tackling the challenges they gain knowledge about online crime and how they can avoid it and can even win prizes which include a full police experience. The Dutch government has extended the ‘intelligent lockdown’ measures until June 1st, the Gamechangers campaign will continue for as long as teenagers are obliged to stay at home.