Fraud alarms follow each other – the police: “High number”

In 2023, authorities and companies could be seen replacing each other with different fraud alarms. Phishing, vishing and romance scams are some of the terms thrown around last year and this year as well.

News24 has reported on warnings from, among others, the Swedish Tax Agency, the Swedish Transport Agency and the Postcode Lottery about fraud.

One person who has had to be the face of the police’s work with fraud is Lotta Mauritzsoncrime preventer and coordinator at the National Fraud Center. In the reports concerning fraud, Mauritzson has often had his say.

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SEK 30 million in criminal profits – in September alone

At the end of October, Swedish police were able to state that the number of reported fraud crimes had decreased since 2023.

“Reported fraud crimes are at a slightly lower level this year than in 2023, which is encouraging. To say that it is already a trend crime is to claim victory in advance, but the numbers indicate that we are moving in the right direction,” wrote Mauritzson in the press release when.

The criminal profits from telephone fraud alone were measured at SEK 30 million during September 2024. Despite the high figure, it was a decrease from 16 percent compared to the previous month.

In an interview with Nyheter24 tells Lotta Mauritzson that the police are anything but satisfied with that number.

– It is still a very high figure that we are not satisfied with. Here, even more work is needed to reduce crime profits and reports, she says.

She explains that one of the reasons for the high figure may partly be due to the fact that many small businesses have fallen victim to fraudsters, which has meant that they have been able to come across a larger sum of money on each occasion.

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This is how Swedish police work with fraudsters abroad

Several media have reported that fraudsters who take advantage of people in Sweden are in fact not in the country. In one of the sections i “Mission Review” shows a league of fraudsters in Spain targeting senior citizens in Sweden.

– In the reported frauds, there is a dimension called Fraud with an international connection. During September, approximately 35 percent of the reported crimes were registered with that dimension, Mauritzson tells Nyheter24.

Working with crimes where the practitioners are abroad works differently from the usual way the police deal with fraud. Often it takes place in cooperation with other European countries.

– Together with our colleagues in other European countries, efforts are made from time to time. It may be about an investigative effort that has been started when a country has received many notifications about an approach, coordinated with the European colleagues and then it is agreed to start a joint effort.

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That is the maximum penalty for fraud

The police have several different useful tips on their website for those who do not want to be deceived by a fraudster. You should simply hang up the phone, not log in at someone’s request and not trust the caller, according to the police.

Mauritzson says that the police also do a lot of preventive work against fraud. This work includes, among other things, information campaigns and cooperation with other actors in society, such as companies.

What is the penalty for fraud?

– A fraud of the normal degree has a maximum penalty of two years in prison. If it is considered serious, the maximum penalty is six years in prison, says Mauritzson to Nyheter24.

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