The possible scammers pretend they call the 06 number of the Fraud Helpdesk, using a method called spoofing. The called parties see the desk number on their phone, making it appear that they are being called by a reliable party.
The number that the likely scammers show on the screen is from the Communications Department of the Fraud Helpdesk. “Since 6:30 pm tonight I have already had six or seven people ‘calling back’ to me because they have a missed call from me,” said spokesman Tanya Wijngaarde. She obviously does not know how many people have recorded and thus may have been scammed. “Someone is misusing the number, but we have yet to find out what exactly happened.”
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“Don’t answer, wait for voicemail”
The Fraud Helpdesk, which receives a subsidy from the government, has the mission to prevent Dutch people from becoming victims of fraud. The advice of the Fraud Helpdesk is not to answer, but to wait until the counter has left a voicemail. After that, someone can call back to the specified number, so that it is certain that they actually get to the desk.
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