You receive a call and when you answer the phone, you hear an English voice recording. The call is supposedly from the National Police, the Dutch Supreme Court, or the Ministry of Justice.
The call seems to come from a Dutch (mobile) number, or from the government. In reality, the telephone number has been ‘spoofed’. This means that criminals show a different number than the one they are actually calling from. The number you see on your phone is from a person or a company who have nothing to do with the scam.
What is said during the phone call varies:
- Your BSN number has been misused, or:
- There is a warrant for your arrest, or:
- You are suspected of criminal activities, such as drug trafficking or money laundering.
After this, you are asked to press 1 to be connected to an ‘agent’. This agent will then ask you to verify your identity by giving personal information. Next, he tells you to ‘secure’ your money by transferring it to a ‘safe’ account number. Or he asks you to download a computer program that will give him access to your computer. Some people receive money in their account, which they must transfer to various account numbers or to a crypto wallet (a digital wallet for crypto currencies).
What can you do?
We advise you to remain alert for future telephone calls. If you are called by an unknown telephone number, do not call back.
Never transfer money because someone asks you to in a message or a phone call. Just disconnect the call if you have doubts.
Do not disclose any personal information. Also, do not download a computer program at the request of an unknown person.
Don’t transfer money that someone else has put into your account. Your bank will see this as a suspicious transaction and will block your bank account. Contact your bank if the scammer has put money into your bank account.
Have you disclosed no more than your name, address and the last 3 digits of your BSN (Dutch citizen service number)? This will not have any immediate consequences. However, criminals may use this information to make a more trustworthy impression when they call you again.
Did you transfer money, disclose information or download a computer program? Contact the Fraudehelpdesk for personal advice.