Pedophiles have become more active on the Internet during the coronavirus pandemic. This is evidenced by data from the European Police Agency (Europol).
Online sex crimes against children have risen significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the head of Europol, Catherine de Boll, quoted by Deutsche Welle, criminals are more actively trying to come into direct contact with children, who spend much more time on the Internet during isolation. She stressed that the increase in the activity of pedophiles causes her strong anxiety.
In addition, the pandemic increased the number of crimes related to theft of property, the sale of counterfeit sanitary equipment and cyber attacks on hospitals.
In September, Interpol also reported that the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of sex crimes against children. The reason was the closure of schools for quarantine, as a result of which children began to spend more time on the Internet. The activity of cybercriminals on the darknet also stands out.
