Jail sentences of up to 1 to 4 years demanded for phishing practices (Antwerp)
The public prosecutor in Mechelen has demanded prison sentences of one to four years against four people who were on trial for phishing, defrauding people online.
In May 2020, a police team on the Astridplein in Antwerp saw that money was quickly handed over between two people. The inspectors carried out an inspection and it soon turned out that one of the men was in possession of 3,000 euros and three bank cards. Bank cards that were not in his name.
It quickly became clear that Zakkaria A. was looking for people who wanted to make their bank cards available to a phishing gang. Money that was built through scams could then even be parked in their account and withdrawn a little later by the created cashers. A. was also regarded by the Public Prosecution Service as a casher and leading figure. He would have gone to collect money at least twelve times.
Mimoun A. was also on trial in the case. The police found material in the Netherlands that indicated that he had played an important role in phishing and had received fraudulent text messages. His advocate has revealed that the material has been established in the Netherlands as part of a Dutch investigation and that no evidence has been found that he is active in our country. “As far as my client is concerned, it is a file in limbo,” it sounds.
The two men were sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 32,000 euros. Against two other people – they have their bank cards and made them available to the scammers – the prosecutor demanded a year in prison and a fine of 1,600 euros. Judgment falls on December 8. tdk