[Netherlands] Scammers steal €1.7 million in Supreme Court phone con

A telephone fraud scheme has seen scammers steal €1.7 million in under a year and authorities believe that the real figure could be far higher, I Am Expat reports.

The Dutch Supreme Court Scam is a con that has been active since August 2021 and has ended up costing victims in the Netherlands at least €1.7 million. Victims of the scam are targeted through their mobile phones, they are asked by the initial caller to press a number which puts them through to the scammer. 

The victims are subsequently informed by an individual posing as a police officer or Supreme Court official that their BSN number has been misused, resulting in an arrest warrant for suspected criminal activities or money laundering. The scammers then ask targets to hand over money.

One victim spoke to DutchNews.nl about a scam they were caught out by earlier this year. They said, ‘‘A guy introduced himself as Dave. He told me that the police raided a house and found - I don’t even know how many kilograms - but a lot of cocaine.

“He said they investigated this crime and a bunch of other fraud-related crimes and everything linked back to my BSN number. I just immediately started crying. But Dave was so calm and friendly - so reassuring that it was going to be okay.”

The scammers have primarily targeted foreigners and expats in the Netherlands who speak English. They often speak to their victims in English with heavy European accents.

Authorities believe far more victims have been taken in by scam

Dutch police reportedly believe that scammers using this type of con have stolen a lot more than €1.7 million euros. Unfortunately, the true figure is hard to discern as only about one in 10 people report the scam after falling victim to it.

The Dutch Supreme Court Scam has been active since last August but the number of calls has escalated over the past few months. Currently, the Fraud Helpdesk is receiving around 20 reports a day. A total of 224 people have reported giving money to scammers and nearly 18,000 people have received calls.

Dutch police have told reporters that there are no ongoing investigations into the calls. "The only way we’d follow up is if there are concrete grounds to initiate an investigation to find the perpetrators," a police spokesperson said in an interview with DutchNews.nl.

Source: I Am Expat

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

A telephone fraud scheme has seen scammers steal €1.7 million in under a year and authorities believe that the real figure could be far higher, I Am Expat reports.

The Dutch Supreme Court Scam is a con that has been active since August 2021 and has ended up costing victims in the Netherlands at least €1.7 million. Victims of the scam are targeted through their mobile phones, they are asked by the initial caller to press a number which puts them through to the scammer. 

The victims are subsequently informed by an individual posing as a police officer or Supreme Court official that their BSN number has been misused, resulting in an arrest warrant for suspected criminal activities or money laundering. The scammers then ask targets to hand over money.

One victim spoke to DutchNews.nl about a scam they were caught out by earlier this year. They said, ‘‘A guy introduced himself as Dave. He told me that the police raided a house and found - I don’t even know how many kilograms - but a lot of cocaine.

“He said they investigated this crime and a bunch of other fraud-related crimes and everything linked back to my BSN number. I just immediately started crying. But Dave was so calm and friendly - so reassuring that it was going to be okay.”

The scammers have primarily targeted foreigners and expats in the Netherlands who speak English. They often speak to their victims in English with heavy European accents.

Authorities believe far more victims have been taken in by scam

Dutch police reportedly believe that scammers using this type of con have stolen a lot more than €1.7 million euros. Unfortunately, the true figure is hard to discern as only about one in 10 people report the scam after falling victim to it.

The Dutch Supreme Court Scam has been active since last August but the number of calls has escalated over the past few months. Currently, the Fraud Helpdesk is receiving around 20 reports a day. A total of 224 people have reported giving money to scammers and nearly 18,000 people have received calls.

Dutch police have told reporters that there are no ongoing investigations into the calls. "The only way we’d follow up is if there are concrete grounds to initiate an investigation to find the perpetrators," a police spokesperson said in an interview with DutchNews.nl.

Source: I Am Expat

(Links and quotes via original reporting)