Dutch influencer arrested for bank helpdesk fraud

The police arrested a 22-year-old influencer from Gennep on suspicion of involvement in bank helpdesk fraud. According to the authorities, she shared advertisements for money mules on her social media channels.

In this type of fraud, scammers pose as bank employees and call victims to scam them out of money.

Last week, the police arrested five other suspects in the case. The suspects are three 20-year-old men from Rotterdam, a 19-year-old from Poortugaal, and a 21-year-old from Groningen. They are also accused of recruiting money mules - people to withdraw the money they obtained through fraud. While money mules don't always know what they're providing their account for, it is still punishable because they help facilitate fraud.

The police also questioned the money mules. They said they got involved in the fraud through ads shared by multiple influencers. Their high number of followers made the ads seem credible, they said.

According to the police, the 22-year-old woman arrested on Thursday knew she was advertising for fraud. She is suspected of fraud and money laundering.