A unidentified man from the north of the country has lost almost €1m after falling for a social media trick in which conmen posed as his bank.

The man received a text message in September telling him that his bank card was due to expire and he should click on the link to renew it. The man followed the instructions and woke up the next day to find almost €1m had been stolen from his account.

The money was taken by 136 mules – youngsters who make their bank accounts available to criminals in return for easy cash. They were easily identified because the bank noted something unusual was going on, public prosecution department press officer Gerben Wilbrink told RTV Noord.

Officials are now trying to establish all 136 identities and to track down who was behind the scam, Wilbrink said. It is unclear if all the money will be recovered.

Last month, the Dutch banking association said bank clients lost a total of €3.1m in the first six months of this year through security code fraud, compared to €2.4m the last six months of 2018.