⚖️ Legal Note — EU & Dutch Framework on Digital Fraud

 

⚖️ Legal Note — EU & Dutch Framework on Digital Fraud

Digital deception — whether through romance scams, impersonation or malware — falls within the broader scope of cyber-enabled fraud.

While there is no single international law covering it, several existing instruments apply:

Dutch Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht)

Art. 326 Sr — Fraud / Oplichting: intentional deception for unlawful gain.

Art. 231 Sr — Identity fraud: use of another person’s identifying data.

Art. 225 Sr — Forgery / Valsheid in geschrifte, including digital evidence.

European & International Frameworks

Budapest Convention on Cybercrime (2001) — cross-border cooperation in online crime.

EU Digital Services Act (2022) — imposes a duty of care on online platforms to prevent misuse.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — protects personal data used in identity scams.

Together, these norms form a fragmented but evolving system — one that urgently needs a next step:

a clear, international standard for digital integrity and platform responsibility.