Police identify 74 of 100 fraud suspects in Game Over campaign

Police and the public prosecution service have identified 74 of the 100 fraud suspects whose CCTV stills they published in the Game Over?! campaign two months ago, the police have announced.

Of those identified, 34 turned themselves in – 21 of them in the first two weeks of the campaign, before unblurred photos were published – and 40 were identified through tip-offs. Another 38 have been interviewed and six have been arrested.

The suspects are aged between 14 and 42, with an average age of 22. Police describe them as the “errand boys” used by criminal networks to collect bank cards and valuables from elderly victims, rather than the organisers of the scams.

Some are vulnerable people who will be offered support alongside any criminal proceedings, the police said.

The campaign, launched in early March, targets fake police officers, fake bank workers, card cashers and card collectors who con mostly elderly victims out of their money and valuables. Tens of thousands of people have fallen victim to such scams in recent years.

The campaign generated 500 tips. The campaign page on politie.nl was visited 2 million times; social-media ads were viewed 54 million times; and the photos appeared on digital screens at petrol stations, in shopping centres and at train stations a further 34.5 million times. Belgian, German, French and British media also picked up the campaign.

Photos of the remaining 26 unidentified suspects will stay on the police website. The OM will decide on prosecution case by case. “With 74 suspects identified, we have amply met our goal and can speak of a successful investigation drive,” Anne Jan Oosterheert, head of online crime at the Dutch police, said in a statement.