Frans Bauer fights fraud with Whatsapp. On average, victims lose up to 3000 euros if they are scammed via the means of communication, which is more than last year. The police will therefore come up with a new campaign ‘App je just for me’ on Friday, in which the singer participates selflessly. “It’s outrageous how unscrupulous these criminals are.”
The singer from Fijnaart thinks it is outrageous that criminals abuse the victim’s trust in such a way. That is why he decided to participate in three campaign films.
Don’t be faked
In the first video, which came online on Friday, you get an app with the text: ‘Dad, have a moment for me, make some money for me’. His message at the end of the video: don’t be faked when texting.
Waiting for privacy settings…
Frans already prepared his fans for the campaign via social media. He shared a video on his channels in which he said he was on his way to the police station to file a report. He did not say anything about the reason for the complaint. After fans sat in suspense for a few hours, it became clear later that day that the video was a stunt to draw attention to the start of the campaign.
Waiting for privacy settings…
Tens of millions of damage
Every month, the police receive between 320 and 500 reports of Whatsapp fraud and the damage runs into tens of millions. Scammers pretend to be a son or daughter and ask for money.
Such an app often seems lifelike, because the scammers do extensive research beforehand into who they want to extort money.
People over 50 are the victims, Yoanne Spoormans of the police cybercrime team notes. “A generation that feels safe online and is therefore an easy target. And you will go through fire for your children,” says Spoormans.
Never just transfer
In the videos, Frans warns the viewer never to transfer money after contact via Whatsapp, especially if you have not spoken to that person yourself.
Spoormans also has tips to prevent fraud: “Children and their parents can short-circuit at a quiet moment that they will never ask for money via WhatsApp.” She also advises to always report the incident, ‘this may prevent new victims’.