Bonker, lebber, recruiter, nipper and spitta. These are characters from a so-called F-Game, which has nothing to do with a game at all. It is a method to extort money from the elderly in particular.
An elderly woman who has been widowed for a few days receives a phone call. A young man tells her that fraudulent practices have been detected on her bank account. When the woman says she recently lost her husband, the man mumbles a condolence and then extorts her bank card. This is picked up at her door a little later. The woman is robbed of her money and last vestige of faith in humanity.
The F-Game, as street fraud is called, is taking off
“Where it used to be taboo among criminals to rob the elderly, it is now status-enhancing to get started as an F-Gamer,” says Aad Lensen, project leader tackling digitized crime at the Rotterdam police. “It is unconscionable and reprehensible.”
The F-Game, as street fraud is called, is taking off. According to the Dutch Banking Association (NVB), fraud amounted to 47.6 million euros in 2021. In the first half of 2022, the counter was already at 35 million euros.
Drill rappers glorify the F-Game. There are countless videos on TikTok of criminals with flapping money bills. “They are marketing films to seduce young people,” says Lensen. “It is mainly young people who live in neighborhoods with a lot of poverty, unemployment and school dropout. Often they were previously in the picture for street robberies, robberies and burglaries. They are now involved in, for example, bank help desk or friend-in-need fraud. We often have them arrested by the arrest team because a number of them had a firearm. They do not shy away from violence.” According to Lensen, they are making a career switch because the chance of being caught through online crime is much smaller. “While the loot is many times greater.”
Money mules are recruited on social media
At the bottom of the ladder is the spitta, or money donkey. “There is a 100 percent chance of getting caught. Money mules are recruited on social media or in schoolyards and are only interesting if they are 18 years old, because then they can open their own bank account. They are often people with a mild intellectual disability, they have debts, are addicted and homeless. They think they can make money quickly,” explains Lensen.
“Don’t fall for it, it doesn’t make any money, just bullshit,” warns a 22-year-old man from Zwolle who was borrowed as a money mule. “I saw advertisements through Snapchat to make a quick buck. I needed money and wanted to try. I was offered 3500 euros,” says the man who wishes to remain anonymous. When he wanted to quit, he was threatened. “They said they had my IP address and were going to look me up.” Still, he persevered. “I didn’t have any money left over, in fact, I lost money and got into a lot of problems with the bank.”
One step higher comes the nipper: the pinner who goes to the ATM or buys expensive stuff in shops. It is often men between the ages of 15 and 27 who also come into the picture. “They are recognised. If not internally at the police, then through investigative programs.”
The criminals need lots of money mules and pinners. “This is because it has an expiration date on it. That’s where the recruiter comes in, who has to recruit the mules and pinners.”
‘The criminals have no pity for their victims’
In the criminal organization chart, the lebber, or the caller who spends the whole day ‘fishing’ from hotel rooms or holiday parks, has more prestige. “These are extremely savvy people who speak ABN and may have experience in a regular call center. They often have targeted lists of names and numbers purchased from the dark web, for example. Ready-made scenarios are also purchased, so they know what to say.” The lebber can also be the bonker or leader. “There is the smallest chance of being caught. They often go unnoticed.”
According to Lensen, the criminals have no pity for their victims. “They don’t think about their own grandparents. They only care about one thing: making a lot of money quickly. They spend that on VIP tables in a club or on expensive clothes and telephones. Or they invest the money they have collected in the cocaine trade.”
Lensen sees more parallels with organized crime. “You see that this world is hardening. We had a shooting incident at an ATM in Rotterdam. There the shooter wanted to rip a pinner.”
The victims, whom the criminals call fish, are advised by the police to be alert. “Hang up, and if in doubt call the bank yourself. Never hand over your bank card.”
According to the police, cyber investigations are difficult and time-consuming, but considerable investments are made in them. Last year hundreds of money mules were tackled in Rotterdam alone. And last week, Rotterdam detectives rolled up a network of ‘bank employees’. “Prevention is important. This way we can prevent people from becoming victims or money mules,” says Lensen.