Dutch police to scammers: report yourself or see your face on the metro

Police in the Netherlands have launched a campaign to display blurred faces of suspected scammers on TV and public transport. If they don’t report themselves voluntarily, their faces will be publicly unveiled.

The campaign, titled “Game Over,” will target 100 scammers linked to bank helpdesk fraud and similar scams who have defrauded millions of euros, mainly from senior citizens, according to the Noordhollands Dagblad report, which was machine translated.

Initially, criminals’ blurred faces will be displayed along the road and on public transport, as well as in television commercials and on social media.

The police say the people in the images are almost certainly recruited by criminal networks as errand boys for a small sum of money.

According to the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, they collect bank cards from their victims and use them to withdraw cash. The suspects often involve vulnerable young people, such as those with intellectual disabilities or addictions.

The photos will remain blurred until March 19th, giving the suspects time to voluntarily report themselves to the police. If they don’t do it before the deadline, the images featuring their recognizable faces will start being published on March 23rd.

The campaign follows a sharp increase in scams. In 2025, there were over 13,000 incidents involving fake police officers.

The police hope that the campaign will deter potential new perpetrators.

Unlock more exclusive Cybernews content on YouTube.