Excerpts from a press release today by the Dutch Police after several investigations by the Cybercrime Team of the Zeeland-West-Brabant unit revealed that suspects had an account on the Cracked.io platform.
Dutch police, in collaboration with other countries involved in Europol, were able to secure and take down servers and identify individual users. Ultimately, 126 individual Dutch users were identified. The criminal acts per user were mapped out. Some individuals had previously been convicted or were part of ongoing investigations.
Interventions
This research has led to various interventions towards the users, with an average age of 20 years. The youngest user was even 11 years old. The users live throughout the country. In the past week, a large number of users have received a personal letter and/or e-mail message from the police. In addition, approximately 20 stop conversations have been held. Criminal files are being drawn up against eight people and transferred to the Public Prosecution Service, who will make a decision on this. In addition, various Telegram and Discord accounts are also being deleted, because these accounts are probably used to trade in data of possible victims.
Also visible online for the police
Participating in and visiting such platforms seems very easy and above all innocent, but there is a great risk that a line is crossed and a criminal offence is subsequently committed. During the interventions, the police therefore focus on warning the users and the impact that their actions have on themselves and the victims. For example, a criminal record makes it very difficult to get a mortgage or apply for a VOG. Something that does not seem important now, but can be of great importance in the future. In addition, the emotional impact on victims is also emphasized.Future
The investigation is still ongoing. The police and the Public Prosecution Service are also offering help to young people who need it. The police are continuing to investigate suspicious forums and their users. Have you seen a suspicious situation yourself? Please report it to us via 0900-8844.
Source: Politie.nl
It’s a shame that the press release doesn’t provide young people who need help with information as to whom to contact in response to the statement that “The police and the Public Prosecution Service are also offering help to young people who need it.” They are probably offering help directly to those they contact, but what about young people who might want to contact them for help?