Politics

Action against ‘phone phishing’ gang in Belgium and the Netherlands: eight arrests | Eurojust

Published

5 months ago

January 21, 2025

action-against-‘phone-phishing’-gang-in-belgium-and-the-netherlands:-eight-arrests-|-eurojust

In a concerted operation, Belgian and Dutch authorities have cracked down on an internationally operating ‘phone phishing’ gang, leading to the arrest of eight suspects. In addition to ‘phishing’, or trying to gain access to bank or financial data by phone or online, the suspects also visited mainly elderly victims at their homes, pretending to be bank employees or police officers. Eurojust and Europol coordinated and supported the actions in Belgium and the Netherlands, where 17 places were also searched.

Phone and fishing hook on a desk

Most of the fraudulent activities took place in Belgium, but the organised crime group (OCG) behind the scam operated mainly from Rotterdam and other cities in the Netherlands. This week’s arrests have led to the apprehension of the alleged leaders of the OCG, though the investigations into the fraud continue. The fraudsters allegedly scammed victims out of at least several million euros.

At the request of the Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO), Eurojust became involved in the case in November 2022. Subsequently Belgian investigative judges also asked for the support of Eurojust, which organised eight coordination meetings to enable the cooperation with the Dutch authorities and support the operation against the OCG.

Throughout the investigation, Europol brought together all partners to facilitate effective coordination and the exchange of information between Member States. Europol experts also provided national authorities with analytical and financial support.

Prevention

Authorities in both countries are warning customers to exercise caution with online transactions and not to trust phone calls allegedly made by banking staff. Citizens are advised to be cautious on the following points:

Do not trust mails claiming to come from banks that state you urgently need to update your account.
Do not trust messages claiming that your phone account has been locked and needs updating.
Be careful when buying goods via secondhand sites if sellers ask for an initial payment of EUR 0.01.
Do not provide account details, PIN numbers or other financial information over the phone, even if the caller claims to be a bank employee.
Do not trust phone calls or messages that say you have won a phone or another item but ask you to pay a small amount up front.
Check URL links sent to you and make sure they start with ‘https://’.
Beware of links that redirect you to a fake bank site. These may look similar to your bank’s website, but cannot be trusted.
Do not give any information to individuals claiming to be bank employees who visit your home.
Criminal groups often ask young people to lend their phone cards or bank accounts for seemingly harmless transactions. The police strongly advises people against this, as it may make them an accomplice to criminal activities.

This week’s operation was carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:

Belgium: Federal PPO (Federaal Parket); Investigating Judge Court of First Instance Antwerp, section Mechelen (Onderzoeksrechter van Rechtbank van Eerste Aanleg Antwerpen, sectie Mechelen); Federal Judicial Police East Flanders (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie Oost-Vlaanderen)
The Netherlands: PPO Rotterdam (Openbaar Ministerie Rotterdam); National Police (Nationale Politie – Eenheid Rotterdam)

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Nicole Edenedo

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Politics

EU changes protection status of wolves in Europe

Published

5 hours ago

June 6, 2025

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Politics

Commission adopts Ocean Pact to protect marine life and strengthen blue economy

Published

5 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Laura

Commission adopts Ocean Pact to protect marine life and strengthen blue economy

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The ocean shapes our economies, our food systems, even the air we breathe. To better protect our ocean, the Commission has adopted a European Ocean Pact, which will help to promote a thriving blue economy and support the well-being of people living in coastal areas.

This Ocean Pact brings together EU ocean policies under one single and coordinated framework. It will do so through a collaborative approach between EU countries, regions, and stakeholders, including fishers, innovators, investors, scientists, and civil society. Six priority areas for action will define this work, namely

protecting and restoring ocean health by supporting EU countries in their efforts to restore degraded coastal marine habitats
boosting the competitiveness of the EU sustainable blue economy including by strengthening the EU’s maritime industry and by introducing a Blue Generational Renewal Strategy, to foster access to young professionals in marine research, ocean tech, and sustainable fisheries
supporting coastal and island communities, and outermost regions by presenting new or updated strategies for these regions and communities
enhancing maritime security and defence by strengthening EU coast guard cooperation and maritime border security
advancing ocean research, knowledge, skills and innovation by proposing an ambitious EU Ocean Observation Initiative
strengthening EU ocean diplomacy and international ocean governance by stepping up its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

The European Ocean Pact will be complemented by an ocean act by 2027, which will help to ensure the implementation of the priorities of the pact.  An EU Ocean Pact dashboard will be used to track progress.

 For more information

Press release: Commission adopts European Ocean Pact for a healthy ocean, a competitive blue economy and thriving coastal communities

More information about the European Ocean Pact

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