NewsCEPOL releases its first training needs analysis on online fraud schemes
CEPOL released the first Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) on Online Fraud Schemes, highlighting the importance of enhancing EU law enforcement knowledge and skills to deal with this crime.
The EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) 2022-2025 underlined that training for European law enforcement should be delivered within the four-year cycle on the topic of online fraud schemes (fraud, economic and financial crimes). As a part of fraud, economic and financial crimes theme, the topic of online fraud schemes is one of the European Union’s priorities for the fight against serious and organised crime as part of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) 2022-2025.
Following up on this strategic training priority, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) launched an Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) on Online Fraud Schemes in December 2022. This was the first time that CEPOL conducted such an in-depth training needs analysis on this topic with the aim to use the outcomes of the research to define its training portfolio for 2024-2026 and strengthen the law enforcement capacity within the EU to tackle this type of cyber-enabled crime.
In line with the training topics identified and prioritised in the EU-STNA, the OTNA survey included the following seven main topics: Card-not-present fraud; Cyber scams; Cybercrime facilitators; Card-present fraud; Cyber threat intelligence, dark web and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT); Intrusions into system networks of financial institutions; Legal challenges in non-cash payment methods. The findings indicate that more than 27.000 law enforcement officials in the EU Member States would require training on these seven main topics in the upcoming period. There is a need for a continued, comprehensive training emphasis on enhancing knowledge and skills in relation to maintaining cyber safety and dealing with e-crime.
Considering the degree to which cybercrime is recognised as an area of increasing criminality across Europe, while also seen as an external threat, this OTNA confirms that the training needs in this field strongly reflect what has been acknowledged at policy and strategy levels. The EU’s cybersecurity strategy (2020)
and the related Council conclusions, for example, recognised improved information-sharing, including through education, training and exercises, as a central part of necessary capacity building.
Read the full OTNA report on online fraud schemes here.
Visit our online learning platform LEEd for EU law enforcement officials for more information on our currently available training resources covering relevant topics.
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What is behind the OTNA approach?
The CEPOL Regulation mandates the Agency to incorporate training needs assessments and analyses in its planning. CEPOL completed the second EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) in 2021, identifying strategic level training priorities for law enforcement officials across Europe for the next 4-year cycle 2022-2025 of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). In order to analyse the particular training needs in more details, CEPOL is conducting the OTNAs.
The OTNA methodology is a structured training needs analysis procedure, which takes into consideration the deliverables of the EU-STNA process. CEPOL designs its multiannual training portfolio building on the outcomes of the OTNAs, which provide a detailed understanding of the number and profile of officials to be trained, as well as on the proficiency and urgency level of training to be delivered.
