The image is for illustration purposes only
The fake police officers contacted potential victims by phone and tried to convince them to hand over their valuable belongings for various reasons. The 89-year-old woman was told that there would be a burglary in her neighborhood. While the fake officers kept her on the phone, one fake officer came to her door. He took the valuable belongings from the victims house. An alert bystander noticed the suspicious situation and called 112 together with the victim. They were able to share the description of one of the suspects. Not long after, the police arrested three suspects in a car. During the search of the car, jewelry was found that likely belonged to the victim.
Suspects
One of the suspects is a 21-year-old man from Schiedam. The other two suspects, aged 23 and 24, are both from Rotterdam. All three suspects are currently in custody. Their roles and involvement in the fraud are being investigated.
What can you do against fake police officers?
If you receive a call:
- Hang up immediately if you are called by someone claiming to be from the police asking about valuables like jewelry or bank details.
- Call the police at 0900-8844 and verify with them whether you were indeed called by a police officer.
- If you have provided information: do not let anyone in.
If someone is at your door:
- Do not open the door for someone claiming to be from the police. First, ask for the police identification and personnel number of the person at the door, and in this case, call the police at 112 to check the number.
- A real police officer can always identify themselves with a valid police identification card. This is a card containing the name, personnel number, and a photo. This identification is made of polycarbonate, just like a drivers license. The police identification card also has several visible and invisible security features that make it harder to counterfeit. See an example here. An officer in civilian clothing must always show the police identification card voluntarily.
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