Police in Mechelen (Antwerp Province) have arrested a 21 year old man that attempted to take a pensioner’s bank cards by claiming that he worked for her bank and there were issues with the cards. The Rivierenland Local Police Service says that “When the man went to the victim’s home he was surprised by police. He tried to make his escape via the stairs but was unsuccessful”.
Police arrest doorstep fraudster dressed as Bpost Bank employee that attempted to take 82 year old pensioner’s bank cards.
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On Thursday evening the Rivierenland Local Police Service received 6 reports from older people that had been approached by a fraudster posing either as a bank employee or as a police officer. One of the victims, an 82 year old woman, had made an appointment with the fraudster to come to her home.
Dirk Van de Sande of the Rivierenland Local Police Service told VRT News thaty "The 21-year-old suspect came to the victim’s flat to collect her bank cards and codes, because he claimed that there were issues with them”.
"However, when the young man arrived one of our officers opened the door. The suspect then fled immediately down the stairs but was arrested in the communal entrance hall of the building”. The man posed as a bank employee and wore a Bpost Bank polo shirt.
"He behaved aggressively towards the officers. He is already known to police for previous offences” Mr Van de Sande said. However, he did not go into any further detail concerning the nature of the offences.
Call for vigilance
The police call on the public to be vigilant and provide some tips on how to spot scammers. “Police and bank employees never go about things this way. They are never going to contact people like this asking for bank details. If you are in doubt, you should contact your bank or the police.”
In addition to this, you can always ask police officers to show their service identity card. “This looks like a normal identity card, but it has a police logo and the officer's name on it” Mr Van de Sande adds. Police officers in plain clothes wear an orange armband to show that they are working for the police.