Cybercrime Landscape and Changes During the Pandemic in Division 4 ( West North Central

Abstract

Since its existence in December 2019, COVID-19 has significantly impacted different sectors of the economy in both the physical and digital worlds. In cyberspace, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the cybercrime landscape. In this study, we focus on data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the West North Central (Division 4) region. Data was collected for each state for different types of crimes and was divided into various age groups. Non-payment and non-delivery have the highest number of victims compared to other types of crimes. Moreover, over the past five years, the over-60 age group had the highest number of victims in Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Minnesota. However, the number of elderly cybercrime victims ranked second compared to other age groups in Iowa and Nebraska and third in North Dakota.