National figures for the whole of 2021 are not yet available, but the police and the banks are taking into account that the counter will end higher this year than last year when it comes to bank employee fraud. And the figures did not lie in 2020 either: 39.5 million euros in damage. In the first half of this year there was already 22.5 million euros in damage.
Lost confidence
It is the big numbers that hide dramas in the small. The elderly sometimes lose all their savings to these unscrupulous criminals. There are known cases of elderly people getting into debt at the hands of these fake bank employees.
Damage that can amount to tens of thousands of euros per case, a lot of hassle and perhaps the saddest thing: victims completely lose their trust.
What can be done about it?
The criminals are sophisticated and know very well how to gain your trust. But there are a few basic rules: vault accounts or safe accounts do not exist. A bank can block accounts itself in the event of fraud. Bank cards are never collected either! If you receive such a call and you do not trust it, disconnect and call the bank yourself with the number you have from the bank to check whether you have just been called by someone from the bank.
Take some time together with an elderly person in your area to find out how you can arm yourself against this form of crime. The Dutch Association of Banks (NVB) provides tips on the Safe Banking website and the police also provide information on its website.
Suspects in the picture
The police are working with telecom companies and the banking sector to find out about the networks of the criminals and to map their working methods. Fortunately, this has already led to a number of arrests. Help increase that number and call right away if you know anything about these suspects:
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Do you recognize any of these people? Report it to the police, stating the suspect’s number (NN1 or NN2 etc.)
Call the police with tips on 0800 – 6070.
You can call anonymously on 0800 – 7000.
You can report digitally to the police here
and at M via this link
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