At the Regional Service Center (RSC, the place where calls to 0900-8844 come in) and the Operational Center (OC, the control room where 112 calls are received) of the police, multiple reports were received on Tuesday from concerned residents of Heinkenszand, s-Heerenhoek, and surrounding areas. These reports were from people who had been approached by a fake officer. Several people also called the police after hearing from their parents that they had been contacted by a fake officer.

Immediate Action

The police immediately issued a warning via Burgernet regarding the practices of scammers posing as fake officers or fake bank employees. These scammers first make contact with their victims by phone, then send a so-called colleague to collect money, jewelry, bank cards, and other valuable items to safeguard them. However, the police (and banks) never come to peoples homes to collect valuable items and place them in a safe at the police station. 
Police officers also headed directly to Heinkenszand and s-Heerenhoek to catch the scammers.

Unfortunately, There Were Victims

Unfortunately, they could not prevent that an 89-year-old woman from Heinkenszand and a couple (aged 75 and 77) from s-Heerenhoek became victims of the cunning scam. In Heinkenszand, an 89-year-old woman received a call on Tuesday afternoon from a fake police officer who warned her about burglars. While that conversation was ongoing, another policewoman came by to safely store the valuable items of the resident of Heinkenszand. Fortunately, the victim was able to alert someone who came to her aid. This witness tried to stop the fake officer, but unfortunately, she managed to escape, thankfully without any loot. 
Also in s-Heerenhoek, the fake officer managed to escape shortly after with a similar trick, but there she was able to make off with some valuables.

Suspect Arrested

Thanks to the information shared by all involved with the police, they quickly gained insight into a possible suspect. After consulting with the public prosecutor, the police were authorized to arrest the suspect girl on the same day in the act. This occurred on the evening of March 25. The suspect has been in custody since then and is being interrogated. The police are also investigating whether the suspect was involved in similar cases in other parts of Zeeland and in other parts of the Netherlands. This investigation is still ongoing.