Luuk Bekkers

Biographic Data

ID4199589
NAMELuuk Bekkers
GIVEN NAMESLuuk
FAMILY NAMEBekkers
SIGNATUREBEKKERS L
AFFILIATIONSNetherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement
VERIFIEDNo
TOTAL WORKS8
TOTAL CITATIONS7
AUTHOR COUNT8
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2023
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX1

  • Examining Financial Trails of Online Frauds and Money Laundering Choices of Cybercriminals

    Open AccessLuuk Bekkers, Thom Snaphaan et al.ARTICLEEuropean Journal on Criminal…2026

    While many cybercrimes are financially motivated, the financial aspects of cybercrime remain insufficiently understood. The aim of this study is to provide greater insight into the financial trails of online fraud and the choices of cybercriminals in the concealment of illicit proceeds. To do so, we utilize data from 15 completed police investigations into cybercriminal networks in the Netherlands and apply financial crime scripting as an analyti…

  • From the street to the internet? Exploring hybrid offending among financially motivated cybercriminals

    Open AccessLuuk Bekkers, Rutger LeukfeldtARTICLETrends in Organized Crime2026

  • From curiosity to crime

    Open AccessE R Leukfeldt, L M J Bekkers et al.ARTICLEComputers in Human Behavior2026

    The goal of this study was to better understand pathways into cybercrime and the various stages that young people move through before engaging in criminal hacking behaviors. The study draws on unique data resulting from interviews with 22 criminal hackers from the Netherlands and the UK, of which 15 were caught by the police, and 7 were self-identified criminal hackers. Qualitative analysis revealed that young hackers tend to have early experienc…

  • Violence, Conflicts and Weapons in the World of Financial–Economic Cybercrime

    Open AccessLuuk Bekkers, Rutger LeukfeldtARTICLEThe British Journal of Criminology2026References: 51

    The digitization of society has facilitated cafeteria-style offending behaviours among financially motivated offenders: offenders exploit technological possibilities to enhance already existing crime scripts. This raises questions about the presence of offline crime elements in the commission of online crimes. Specifically, the current study explores how physical violence and threats are embedded in the realm of financial–economic cybercrime thro…

  • Specialization in cybercrime and offense versatility during early adolescence and the role of criminogenic needs

    Open AccessLuuk Bekkers, Rutger LeukfeldtARTICLECrime Law and Social Change2025

    This study explores the intertwinement of cybercrime and traditional crime during early adolescence. We designed a cross-sectional survey compromising previously validated instruments, which was completed by 1,240 young people from the Netherlands. This survey measured the lifetime prevalence and past-year frequencies of a number of offending behaviors, and screened for key criminogenic needs. Analysis revealed that around half of the cybercrime …

  • Exploring the factors that differentiate individual and group offenders in cyber-dependent crime

    Open AccessL M J Bekkers, Luuk Bekkers et al.ARTICLEJournal of Criminal Justice2025References: 15

  • Recruiting co-offenders for financial cybercrime

    Open AccessLuuk Bekkers, Rutger Leukfeldt et al.ARTICLETrends in Organized Crime2024

  • Money Mules and Cybercrime Involvement Mechanisms

    Luuk Bekkers, Ynze Van Houten et al.ARTICLEDeviant Behavior2023Cited by: 7References: 42

    Money mules play an essential role in the execution of financially-motivated cybercrimes. The bank accounts of money mules, who are often young individuals, are used to hide and launder stolen money, allowing members of cybercriminal networks to maintain their anonymity. In order to better understand the pathways that lead to cybercrime, this explorative study aims to map the experiences and perceptions of Dutch young people related to money muli…