24 suspects have been arrested after allegedly defrauding victims out of 75,000 euros

Over the past two weeks, 24 suspects in or near Deventer have been arrested for committing fraud on Whatsapp. The suspects range between the ages of 15 to 40 years old.

A classic case of a “friend-in-emergency” fraud, the perpetrators pretended to be friends or relatives of the victims, faking a new number and asking victims for (evidently) a large sum of money that they claimed they needed as soon as possible, RTL Nieuws reports.

Some of the perpetrators were not the ones messaging, but made their accounts available for money deposit, serving as “money mules” or those who transfer illegally acquired money on behalf of others, obtaining a small fraction of the transferred money for profits.

After questioning, the suspects that were arrested were released shortly after. However, the police are not ruling out the possibility of additional arrests.

What should you look out for?

Avoid transfer money from Whatsapp messages or e-mails— more often than not they will be scams. Trust your gut, and be careful with what information you choose to disseminate online.

Have you ever received an e-mail or message similar to this? Let us know in the comments.

Feature Image: StockSnap/Pixabay

Vedika Luthra
Vedika Luthrahttp://hotchocolatehits.com
Vedika was born in India, raised in Poland and moved to the Netherlands to study. Like her nationality, she’s confused about what she likes most, which is why her bachelor’s degree was in liberal arts and sciences. She enjoys writing about all things food-related but likes to mix it up every now and then.

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