For a large -scale Bankhelpdesk fraud, four men up to five years in prison were demanded. The men from Groningen and three former Leeuwarders are classified by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) as leaders in this cyber crime case. “Nauseating”, the public prosecutor called their working method.
The men could have stayed under the radar for a long time. Because one of them was wrongly parked the car at a recreation park in Gasselternijveen, the business nevertheless came to light in December 2023.
The wife of an agent in Burger could not lose her car. The couple lived temporarily in the park due to a renovation of their home. The woman rang the bell at the house, but nobody opened. She went to the back of the holiday home.
She saw four men through the window at a kitchen table. Everyone had a laptop for themselves and a headset on. There was busy calls. The woman knocked on the window. One of the men opened. The woman smelled a weed smell and saw drugs lying on the table. She informed her husband about that. He not only thought of a drug offense, possibly the men were also working on cyber crime cases. He signaled his colleagues.
The team invaded the Opium Act. Two men were arrested in the house and two outside during their flight. The agents came across a professionally furnished call center.
They seized four laptops and thirteen telephones. That research showed that at least thirteen people were scammed. The loot is estimated at just under a quarter of a million euros.
According to the public prosecutor, that happened in a shrewd way. In a criminal context, the suspects approached citizens of around 80 years old. Older citizens with a savings account and a confidence in their bank. They were always approached by a ‘bank employee’, who said that their bank account was tampered with. The ‘nice employee’ wanted to help and watched in the computer with permission.
The victims were held on the line for hours, in the meantime their savings in portions disappeared to the accounts of Gerezels. These are vulnerable or addicted people who lend their bank account for compensation.
The suspects were out of financial gain. According to the prosecutor, they have never shown repentance. They were silent with the police and, according to the OM, they hung up pure chat.
In the home of three suspects, who shared a house in Leeuwarden during that period, the agents found about a hundred SIM cards, illegal software and more telephones. The three men no longer have a place to live and stay with family or acquaintances.
The OM believes that ‘a tip of the iceberg’ is uncovered. Earlier that year, the suspects were active on holiday parks in Emmen, Orvelte and Appelscha.
The police have not been able to investigate a part. Laptops were too well protected or made. That also applied to several telephones. Possibly more victims have been made, the public prosecutor said. The investigation was too great and the capacity of the police for that was not sufficient. “What the cesspoint would have been pulled open differently,” said the prosecutor.
The 23-year-old man from Groningen was also on trial for help desk fraud in Groningen. That also happened in 2023, but from February to April. He did that from a house on Damssport, together with a 30-year-old man from Assen. They thereby abused two vulnerable young people, who were used as money fabrics. When they no longer wanted to cooperate, the Assenaar would have threatened them. The couple went to the police.
Against the Assenaar, the OM demanded 15 months in prison last Wednesday. The Groninger should be on the recreation parks for that case and the case for five years. The 26-year-old fellow suspect was presented with the same punishment. The two others should be four and and a half years, thinks the OM.
The ruling is scheduled for April 18.