It was in Aalter, East Flanders, that the local police conducted a thorough investigation, with the assistance of the federal judicial police, the Dutch police, Europol and the Amsterdam Public Prosecution Service. The East Flemish public prosecutor’s office, which has a specialized cell to fight cybercrime, took the lead in following up victims elsewhere in Flanders as well.
It concerns dozens of Belgian victims, spread all over Flanders. They were approached by the gang members via emails, texts and WhatsApp messages. The victims were led – via a phishing link – to a counterfeit (banking) website. It gave the gang members access to their accounts. The gang is estimated to have stolen several million euros in this way.
The Belgian protagonists and the Dutch organizers have been identified through intensive research. On Tuesday, this led to a large-scale action at 24 addresses in the Netherlands. These were spread over 6 of the 10 police regions, so 9 suspects were arrested.