A large-scale campaign by the Dutch police revealed the identities of 74 out of 100 suspects shown.
The Dutch police launched a large-scale campaign, ‘Game Over?!’, to track down scammers. They did so in a unique but successful way. Blurred images of fraudsters were shared in public spaces. Fraudsters were given two weeks to turn themselves in, after which the police would release the clear images. This public shaming is paying off. No fewer than 74 of the 100 most wanted individuals are now known to investigators.
Public shaming
“With Game Over?! we want to solve cases, tackle scammers, disrupt criminal networks, and show that this type of crime does not go unpunished,” according to the Dutch Police. To achieve this, they displayed 100 suspects at once (using blurred images) who are wanted by the police. These include fraudsters such as money mules, card collectors, and fake police officers.
The fraudsters were given two weeks to report to the police before their faces were distributed via social media and billboards across the Netherlands. And that is exactly what happened.
74 out of 100
In the meantime, the police have been able to unmask 74 of the fraudsters. “34 of them turned themselves in to the police, while 40 others were recognized by tipsters,” according to the Police of the Netherlands. More than 500 tips were reportedly submitted, and the website was viewed more than two million times.
“This form of crime creates many victims. It has a huge impact on both the victims and society,” says Anne Jan Oosterheert, portfolio holder for Online Crime at the police.