In October, the police received a report that a 92-year-old woman from Harderwijk was scammed by fake officers. The woman spent hours on the phone with someone pretending to be an officer. The story was that the womans details were found with two young men who had been arrested. An investigation was to be conducted, and for that, the police needed to visit the woman. A fake officer then came to the womans door and took jewelry and a bank card.
Investigation
The Veluwe-West basic team started an investigation and has been active since. The investigation led to a call center of fake officers and so-called bank helpdesk employees. On Friday, November 21, this call center was active, and from there, several victims were contacted by phone. The police traced the location of the call center and entered a residence in Rotterdam. There, two men aged 24 and 29 without a fixed residence and a 25-year-old man from Amsterdam were arrested. The three suspects are currently still in custody. The investigation is ongoing.
Do not let them in, no matter what they claim
Scam tricks are excuses criminals use to defraud people, often successfully. They call, come to the door, or approach people on the street with a convincing story. However, a real officer or bank employee will never call or come to the door to collect jewelry, money, or a bank card. The police advise always calling 112 if contacted by a (suspected) scammer or if a (suspected) scammer is at the door. The police can then verify if it is a scam. Earlier this year, the police started a collaboration with Omroep MAX to warn the elderly about fake officers: “Is it a fake officer, or is it okay? Check via 112!”
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