30-year-old Amsterdammer arrested in major phishing investigation

A 30-year-old Amsterdammer has been arrested by the police on suspicion of phishing. The man has defrauded dozens of victims for a total of more than 400000 EUR. The cybercrime team of the Central Netherlands police managed to prevent more victims.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, the cybercrime team arrested the 30-year-old suspect in Zaandijk. This man was presumably the client and would have had a coordinating role in the scams. During the search, a large amount of branded clothing, a car, data carriers and a firearm were seized.

The police investigation started less than a year earlier, when a victim reported fraud. The victim had placed an advertisement on Marktplaats, after which someone contacted him via WhatsApp. This so-called buyer sent a fake link that looked like the cross-border link from Marktplaats. This link was actually a phishing link. The captured login details were then used to access the victim’s banking environment.

Dozens of victims
During the investigation, the police came across 67 reports with a combined damage of more than 4 tons. The police contacted 21 potential victims prematurely and thus managed to prevent damage.

More arrests in this case
On February 2, 2021, the cybercrime team of the Central Netherlands police arrested an underage boy from Amsterdam on suspicion of phishing. A firearm and data carriers were seized during the search of the boy’s home. This suspect is still in custody.

Another suspect – a 42-year-old Amsterdammer – was arrested on Monday 5 June, he has since been released but remains a suspect in the case.

The police investigation continues. Police do not rule out the possibility of more suspects being arrested.