OCGs (organised crime groups) have been quick to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting various types of fraud and scams, cybercrime, and the illicit supply of counterfeit and substandard goods such as fake ‘corona home test kits’ and even (fake) vaccines.
That’s according to the European Union policing agency Europol latest COVID-19 report, on how COVID-19 crimes have affected Europe in 2020.
Europol’s Executive Director, Catherine De Bolle said: “We are experiencing a second wave of the pandemic and organised crime does not miss the chance to exploit the circumstances to increase its profits by targeting vulnerable communities such as children and legal business activities weakened by the economic crisis. Our new report looks back at the last eight months and we can trace how criminals have used uncertainty and change to identify and exploit opportunities.”
The UK was among countries whose police attended a third virtual meeting of a working group on COVID-19 crime threats and law enforcement responses. Topics raised included: online scams such as offering health products; an increase in online child sexual exploitation material; and the need to identify and monitor indicators of the infiltration of organised criminal groups into the legal economy.
That’s not so much due to the coronavirus, but economic crisis, which as the report says is ‘fertile ground for the growth of organised crime’. The report adds that ‘economic hardship and rising unemployment may also drive recruitment for organised crime groups’.
Few new trends related to crime and terrorism due to the pandemic have emerged since the last report issued by Europol in May. Cybercriminals and opportunistic individuals alike spread disinformation to profit from it. For masks, sanitary and pharma products, the dark web and above all the internet ‘continues to host the primary distribution platforms for counterfeit goods’, the report says. Dedicated websites often disappear ‘shortly after receiving negative reviews by defrauded customers’. As for illegal drugs, ‘wholesale traffickers have continued to arrange shipments and the effects of the pandemic appear to have been limited to mid-level supply and distribution networks based in the EU.’
During lockdown, the authorities noted ‘a notable drop observed in the consumption of MDMA, a drug that is usually taken in recreational settings’. Since the easing of spring lockdowns, medical facilities and pharmacies have been targeted, and medical equipment, sanitary products and pharmaceuticals high in demand’ stolen. Supply and production problems have led to an increase in market prices for illicit cigarettes and tobacco.
Despite general fear, travel restrictions and enforced border checks, migrant smuggling has continued, albeit less than normal; whether by freight trains or in lorries. Smugglers have used social media for advertising their services and spreading misinformation and narratives around the COVID-19 pandemic to increase demand for their services, according to Europol. The report describes the impact of the pandemic on the terrorism threat level in the EU (whether from extreme left or right wing or jihadist) as limited.
To download the 22-page report visit the Europol website.
