Cybercrime and social ties

This paper presents a case study of phishing in Amsterdam, demonstrating that the current literature on criminal phishing networks provides an incomplete picture of this form of organized crime. The paper adds to the current literature by describing an organized group of phishers whose relationships are based on real-world social networks rather than internet forums, and who mainly use social engineering rather than malware as a tool to acquire information from their victims. Because the origin and growth of the Amsterdam network differ from those of groups previously described, other possibilities for situational crime prevention arise. In addition to technological measures, for example those aimed at forums, this article focuses on measures that target the social ties on which the networks are based.