The conman cop is on the rise in the Netherlands, with the real police receiving over 2,400 complaints about fake officers by mid August, television crime show Opsporing Verzocht said on Tuesday evening.

In 2023, just 400 incidents were reported over the entire year, police told the programme, which described the rise as an “explosion”. The number of incidents has surged this summer in particular.

Older people are most likely to fall victim to the conmen and women. “They are rung about a string of robberies in their neighbourhood and the caller then suggests they give their valuables to the police for safe-keeping,” police spokesman Robert Doornbusch told the programme. “They have then lost everything.”

“These are preliminary figures because not everyone reports incidents to the police,” Doornbusch said. He called on victims to make a formal complaint and said gangs are using similar tricks all over the country.

Real police officers will never take personal belongings away and their identity can be checked by phoning 0900-8844, Doornbusch said.