Thanks to two reports in Tilburg, the police were able to arrest several suspects in a large cybercrime case. The five men pretended to be employees of a bank on the phone and then came to the victims’ doors. At least 95 people lost large amounts of money this way. In total, the damage is eight tons.
The major fraud was traced thanks to two reports that were made in Tilburg in January last year. A victim was called by someone posing as a bank employee. The man had a lot of personal information about the victim. Less than fifteen minutes after the phone call, a man was at the door.
After the man left, a real bank employee called. He told the victim that his access to internet banking had been hacked. The victim blocked his account and filed a report. A second victim was less successful: money was stolen from it.
Huge case
The two reports were the start of a huge chat trick case, also known as bank help desk fraud. A major investigation resulted in 95 declarations. The victims lost a total of 800,000 euros.
Five young men aged 18, 19, 20, 21 and 27 from Arnhem have been arrested. That happened in September and October of last year, but has only now been announced by the police. According to the police, the oldest suspect directed the other four. He is therefore the prime suspect. During the searches, the police seized cash and cryptocurrencies, among other things. The 27-year-old’s home has also been seized.
The oldest suspect is still in custody, the other four are free but still suspicious. The Public Prosecution Service will soon take up the matter further.