Utrecht – The police, in collaboration with the Romanian police, have arrested three suspects on suspicion of digital fraud. A fourth suspect will be questioned in Romania. Nearly a thousand victims became victims of the activities of the foursome. The amount of damage amounts to more than one million euros.
On Tuesday, February 28 and Friday, March 3, two suspects were arrested in Romania. A third suspect was arrested in Enschede on February 28. It concerns two men aged 33 and 26 from Enschede and a 27-year-old man without a permanent home or residence. A fourth suspect is being questioned in Romania.
Phishing
After investigation, the Digital Crime Team of the Central Netherlands Unit managed to link a suspicious telephone number from a report to many digital fraud cases. Thanks to good cooperation with and the reports of various large banks in the Netherlands, the investigation could be further deepened. Most of the victims – nearly 1,000 in total – involved phishing on online marketplaces. The amount of damage is more than one million euros.
Distressing
Investigator Jouke Posthumus heard harrowing stories from victims. “It often concerned people who were already in a difficult situation that was abused in a nasty way. We were extra motivated to arrest these suspects.”
International network
Posthumus continues: “The large and extensive case also makes it complex due to its international character. Thanks to the many reports, we can link information and data and track down suspects. Thanks to a good international network through previous cyber cases in our unit and close cooperation with the Romanian police, we succeeded in arresting the suspects. Our next step is to contact all victims to spread the good news and listen again to their stories. This is also an important part of our work.”
About Team Digital Crime
The Digital District of the Central Netherlands police is strongly committed to tackling cybercrime and digital crime. In addition to the cybercrime team, the Digital Crime Team was recently launched. This fits in with the national movement in which the Public Prosecution Service and the police are committed to tackling digitized crime. This concerns, for example, fraud with online trade, online fraud with payment products, online advance fraud and online identity fraud. The aim is to run more business and smarter interventions on online crime. According to Neeltje Geldermans, Head of Operations of the Central Netherlands unit, digitized crime will never go away. “That therefore requires more cooperation and coordination within the police, with partners and across borders. Every year there are countless victims of online fraud with an annual damage of more than two billion euros. The impact on the victims is huge: one in three victims has psychological or financial problems. And it really can happen to anyone.”
You can do this
The mental impact of digital crime on victims is significant, often greater than with traditional crime. Many victims therefore do not report or report the crime. While reporting does actually help. For yourself, and so that the police have as much investigative information as possible. Know that really anyone can be a victim. Cybercriminals work professionally. So there is no need for shame. Talk about it if you have become a victim and report it. Are you reading this news item and has this happened to you? Then contact the police on 0900 8844 or file a report online.
Read here the measures you can take to reduce the risk of cybercrime.
Call the police
0900-8844
Respond online
Declare
Online
Information source: Politie.nl
