Online dating scam: Man held hostage for multiple days in Amsterdam

A 52-year-old man recently had the worst kind of experience with online dating. He made a date with someone he met on a dating site, and when he arrived, he was taken hostage by two men with a firearm. He was held hostage for several days and robbed of over 23,000 euros, the Amsterdam police said on Tuesday.

Een date plannen via een datingsite, eindigt in een gijzeling van meerdere dagen. Het overkwam een 52-jarige man toen hij wilde afspreken met een date. Wanneer het slachtoffer aankomt op de afgesproken plek, treft hij daar niet zijn date aan, maar twee jongens met een vuurwapen.… pic.twitter.com/cPnnu7Q2U7

— Politie Eenheid Amsterdam (@POL_Amsterdam) May 29, 2024

The man was first taken to a home on Jan Rebelstraat, where the perpetrators tied him up and took his phone and his bank cards. They withdrew over 23,000 euros from his account.

The next day, the perpetrators took the man to a home on Kinkerstraat. When he woke up a day later, he was alone. He managed to escape and went straight to the police.

“The victim was extremely shocked by this intense incident,” the police said. They published a video showing a man using the victim’s stolen bank card, asking the public for help identifying the suspect.