He got caught red-handed in a log cabin in the Stadspark in Groningen, The Netherlands, he was on the phone and pretended to be an employee of Rabobank. In that phone call, made on July 20, 2021, the now 20-year-old suspect tried to scam someone.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, that call was not an isolated incident. Through the actions of the police in The Hague and T-Mobile, the young cyber crook comes into the sights of the Dutch police.
First, the telecom company files a report for breaking into their computer system and subsequently unlawfully carrying out SIM swaps. A SIM swap is an action in which a mobile phone number is linked to another SIM card. This can then be used to commit fraud.
Internal investigation at T-Mobile pointed to an IP address that can be traced back to the parental home of the suspect. In that investigation, the police found that the suspect had contact via a telegram account about software that can be used to commit fraud.
This includes software that is designed to illegally obtain login details from customers of banks. The suspect did not only make victims think that he was an employee of a bank. He also pretended to be the tax authorities and bailiff and/or debt collection agency by telephone or e-mail.