An extensive investigation uncovered two perpetrators who had defrauded more than 80 victims for a profit of NOK 18 million. Now the perpetrators have been sentenced by the Supreme Court to 5 years and 6 years and 6 months in prison, respectively.
In April 2020, the police of the Eastern Police District began working on the fraud case. The investigation grew and more and more cases emerged with the same modus operandi: elderly women who fell victim to identity theft and phone fraud by draining their accounts.
Anette Mørch Siggerud, one of the two investigators in the case, explains that the procedure in the case was that the victims were called by someone posing as a bank employee who said that a loan has been granted. When uncertainty arose, scammers promised to help.
“This type of scam often plays on emotions because scammers create stress and fear and can offer a simple solution to the problem.
Long phone calls
All of the victims said the caller was polite, trustworthy and sympathetic. Victims talked on the phone with scammers for a long time.
– In order to be able to keep what the victims considered a loan, they were asked to provide their PESEL number and use "kodebrikken". In this way, the scammers got into the victim's online bank and were able to start transferring money.
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After extensive investigation work, police found links between several cases. In June 2020, the police managed to arrest suspicious people. It turned out that the perpetrators had defrauded over 80 elderly women with a profit of PLN 18 over the course of eight months million NOK.
The judgment becomes case law
The two perpetrators were sentenced by the Supreme Court to 5 years, 6 years and 6 months in prison, respectively. The judgment becomes jurisprudence on the scale of penalties in this type of fraud.
– Those who have experienced a great mental strain are the elderly and retirees. They also lost their savings. That is why we are glad that we were able to apprehend the perpetrators,” says Anette Mørch Siggerud.
Police also see that the money from this type of fraud often goes to serious, organized crime.
“It was important to apprehend these perpetrators to ensure redress for the victims, but it was also important to stop the financing of other crimes,” concludes Anette Mørch Siggerud.
Case investigators Anette Mørch Siggerud and Daniel Berge Nilsson conclude with some tips on how to reduce your exposure to fraud.
Here are the directions from the police
- Don't give out your BankID or other sensitive personal information over the phone, even if you've been told they're calling from a bank or the police, for example.
- The number on your phone may be fake. It is therefore not sufficient to check the telephone number from which the call was made using only information from the telephone directory.
- Ask the person's name and where they are calling from. Hang up, then call directly where the person is calling from and ask to speak. In this way, you will get confirmation that the person works there and is who they say they are.
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Source: politiet
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