The number of reported frauds increased in 2023 by as much as 22 percent compared to the previous year. A total of 238,371 reports of fraud were reported to the police, and the fraudsters’ total criminal profits amounted to a breathtaking SEK 7.5 billion, according to data from The Crime Prevention Council (ABRUPT).
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Most common scams in 2023
According to the police, the fraudsters’ criminal profits are often reinvested in new criminal schemes such as drug and arms trafficking.
Profits of Crime 2023 by Fraud Type:
- Investment fraud: SEK 2.3 billion.
- Telephone fraud: SEK 708 million.
- Romance fraud: SEK 470 million.
- Card fraud without a physical card: SEK 344 million.
- Fraud where a person pretends to be a company or authority: SEK 329 million.
Source: The police
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New Fraud Wave – Did You Get the Message?
Now another devious approach has taken off around the country. Through the wave of SMS scams that are now affecting more and more Swedes, people are asked to change jobs in exchange for large sums of money.
“Hello, sorry to disturb you. My name is Jessica and I am a recruiter at the Blackstone Group,” says a recruitment SMS, according to SVT.
However, who is behind the new form of fraud, where one simply pretends to advertise a job, is not known.
According to Stefan Axelssonprofessor in the Department of Computer and Systems Science, it is not unlikely that the fraudsters are sitting in English-speaking countries and sending the messages.
– These are ordinary criminals, it is not such a sophisticated type of crime. They usually sit in the English-speaking part of the third world somewhere, he tells SVT.
When asked what you should do if you receive a text message, the message from Axelsson is clear.
– Absolutely nothing.
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Blackstone Group: “Takes the form of phishing”
The company the fraudster claims to represent, Blackstone Group, exists in reality. SVT states that it is an American venture capital company and should be aware of the problems themselves.
On his homepage they write about their name being used.
“Cybercriminals often seek to take advantage of Blackstone’s reputation to engage in fraudulent schemes, whereby victims are tricked into believing they are dealing with Blackstone personnel through websites, text messages, emails, phone calls, social media and other communication platforms,” they write.
“Many of these attacks take the form of phishing where a cybercriminal tries to obtain your confidential and personal information such as social security numbers, account details and passwords,” they conclude by writing.
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The police warn of phishing
At the police station homepage they warn of phishing, where fraudsters invite you in various ways, for example by sending recruitment SMS.
“Be suspicious if, for example, you receive an email asking you to click on a link and fill in your bank details. Never follow such prompts.”, they write.
If you suspect that you have received a fraudulent SMS or email, you are asked to forward it to number 7726.
“The numbers correspond to the word SPAM on the phone’s keypad and are globally established for reporting hoax text messages. It is an operator-independent number that anyone can use. In this way, the telecom operators get to know which scam text messages you receive,” writes the police in conclusion.
The police: Then you must report to the police
Lotta Mauritzson works as a crime preventer and national coordinator at the National Fraud Center at the police. In another email News24 she describes what the mailing may look like and what the fraudster wants to get you to do.
“We are aware of the recruitment text messages, including from the Blackstone Group. In some cases, the text messages have involved collecting personal information about you, such as card details. In other cases, it has been about you rating pages online To be able to do that you need to pay for a training or some material. When you pay the first time you will be asked to pay more times. No salary will be paid before you have paid a lot yourself and then the salary is not you expecting you,” she writes.
If you have received one of the recruitment text messages, you should not respond, she believes. And in the worst case scenario, you may have to file a police report.
“You should not reply, click on any link or go to any page referred to in the SMS. We have also understood that requests have gone out on LinkedIn. Block the sender. If you have continued, you should definitely make a report to the police and stop all further contact,” Marutizson writes to Nyheter24.
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Source: nyheter24.se
