An officer saw the four around 8:30 PM driving in a car on Zeeweg in Katwijk. Because the car stood out and many people in the Katwijk-Noordwijk police area have recently become victims of fake police officers, he decided to check the occupants. A significant amount of cash, a large quantity of jewelry, and two bank cards were found in the car that were not in the name of any of the occupants. The four suspects, aged 19 and 22 from Rotterdam, a 20-year-old man from Delfzijl, and a 17-year-old from Capelle a/d IJssel, were arrested and detained for questioning.

The bank cards found in the car belonged to a 94-year-old woman from Katwijk. She stated that she had received a visit from the police on Saturday evening. In reality, it was the suspects who were arrested. The four are in custody for questioning by the detectives. They may be linked to multiple scam calls where they presumably posed as police officers. The four were examined by the examining magistrate on Tuesday, July 15.

Leidschendam
In Leidschendam, a fraudster was also caught red-handed on Saturday afternoon, July 12. The victim had been called shortly before by someone posing as a police officer, after which the suspect came to the victims door to collect the bank card. This raised suspicion in an alert neighbor, who alerted the police. Officers found the man with a stolen bank card on Van Ruysdaellaan and arrested him. He is a 19-year-old man from The Hague. He has since been released pending further investigation.

Stay alert!
The police continue to emphasize that people should remain alert to this form of fraud. Such fraudsters take their time to gain the trust of their victims and truly convince them that they have the best intentions. The police, your neighborhood officer, or your bank will never come to your door to collect your cards or other valuables. Let alone to ask for your PIN. If someone calls and asks for this, they are a scammer. Hang up immediately! Have you been contacted by phone? Then call the police at 0900 – 8844. If someone actually comes to the door with a suspicious story, do not engage and call 112 immediately!

Warn the elderly
Everyone can help make it as difficult as possible for scammers. Tell your parents, grandparents, or older neighbors that scam calls occur regularly. And that it is not rude at all to hang up or not let strangers in. Especially not if they feel that something is wrong. Advise them to call the police directly in such cases.