Seven religious communities in Flanders defrauded by cybercriminals
A gang of cybercriminals has defrauded seven religious communities in Flanders using phishing methods, according to police in Antwerp. An 18-year-old has been in custody since the end of last month, but he does not appear to be the mastermind behind the gang.
The gang came to the attention of the police when an 18-year-old tried to pay in a jewellery shop in Antwerp with money that turned out to come from a religious order in Wetteren. The man was arrested.
Further investigation revealed that fraudsters were posing as bank employees, enabling them to plunder the nuns' account. The order involved appears not to be the only community affected in recent weeks. A religious institution in Oudenaarde is said to have been defrauded of tens of thousands of euros. The account of an order in Tielt, West Flanders, has also been plundered in the same way.
According to the diocese of Ghent, seven religious communities have been defrauded in a similar manner in recent times, suggesting that a criminal gang is targeting religious orders. This is presumably because they are home to many elderly people who have considerable financial resources and may have difficulty using new technology.
Investigators are warning religious communities to be vigilant about phone calls or emails from people claiming to be bank employees or people who “need to take over your computer for one reason or another”. Suspicious calls should be disconnected and external software should never be installed at the request of the person calling or emailing.
The 18-year-old in custody is not thought to be the mastermind behind the gang. Other suspects are still being tracked.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO IMAGEBROKER
Related news
