On Tuesday and Wednesday, five people were taken into custody under suspicion of acting as money mules, in which they make their bank account or credit card available for scammers to use in fraud attempts.
The arrests followed a number of investigations launched after a wave of scam attempts in the Grand Duchy. A number of pieces of evidence were discovered as a result which are now being evaluated, while officers seized numerous valuable items to potentially use as compensation for victims.
The five individuals were brought before an investigating judge on Wednesday and will be held in custody until further notice. As always they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The public prosecutor’s office explained in a statement:
“The perpetrators use an organised money laundering structure involving multiple levels and a significant number of Luxembourg residents in order to collect the proceeds from their phishing attempts.
These individuals are recruited primarily through Snapchat, other social media, or messaging platforms. They are often young people or those in precarious financial situations.”
The public are advised to beware any schemes offering quick and easy money, and to never pass on their bank details to strangers. Other tips on preventing fraud can be found at:
https://police.public.lu/fr/prevention/arnaques.html
