More than 10 fraudulent ATMs have been found in the centre of The Hague, according to NOS. The police believe the ATMs to be operated by criminals, who place “cash traps” that prevent money from being released even after a victim’s card has been removed from the machine.
According to a Facebook post made by the police, the ATMs collect cash from unsuspecting victims using so-called “cash traps'', which collect the cash that ATM users wish to withdraw. This means that the user will receive their card from the machine at the end of the transaction, but the cash will be trapped inside the machine, ready for criminals to collect.
The 10 ATMs identified by the police as being exploited by criminals were all located in the centre of The Hague. Though the police say that the technique is fairly new, there were similar instances reported in Tilburg and Zwolle in 2022.
The advice from law enforcement in the Netherlands is to be extremely careful when using debit cards and ATMs, and be sure to call the police if anything suspicious takes place before, during, or after using an ATM. The police are already conducting an investigation into who placed the 10 cash traps found in The Hague, and how they were able to be placed inside the ATMs.
You can also report financial fraud to the Dutch Fraud Help Desk, either online, or by phone, as well as notifying your bank about any suspicious transactions.
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