The case in summary: A woman living in the east of Agder has been charged with grossly negligent fraud after more than 100 people are said to have been defrauded. The woman thought she worked for Interpol. The fraud is said to have gone on over several years, from the end of 2021 to March this year. The woman is said to have been contacted by people from abroad who pretended to be from Interpol, and she was recruited as an “agent”. The woman’s defender, Torleiv Drangsland, believes that she herself is a victim and has been defrauded. The woman has made a counter-report against the people who pretended to be from Interpol. The police are investigating the matter, and it is not currently appropriate to expand the charge. The victims live all over the country, and it is said that considerable sums have been defrauded. The accused woman, who lives in the east of Agder, herself believes that she has been tricked by the fraudsters into believing that she was working for the real Interpol. She is currently charged with grossly negligent fraud. Lawyer Torleiv Drangsland has been appointed as the woman’s defender. He says the case came as a shock to the client. Photo: Leif Dalen / news – Our position is that she has not acted grossly negligently, but that she herself has been defrauded and is a victim, says the woman’s defender Torleiv Drangsland at Tofte/Hald Advokatkontor. Over several years According to the police, the fraud must have gone on over several years, from the end of 2021 until March this year. The police then raided the woman’s home and she was taken in for questioning. This is written by Agderposten, which mentioned the case first. – It is not currently appropriate to expand the charge, but we cannot rule it out, writes Pål Harald Svendsen from the police in Agder, who is investigating the case. Pål Harald Svendsen is responsible for digital fraud and money laundering in the Agder police district. Photo: Agder police district According to Svendsen, it is currently difficult to say anything precisely about how large amounts have been defrauded, since there are still very many who have not been questioned. – In the electronic seizure of the woman, the police have found a number of names of potential victims. Currently, the number is well over 100 people, he says. The police have not yet managed to get a picture of how much the victims have lost due to the woman’s involvement. – Was defrauded herself The woman who is charged in the case believes herself that she has been defrauded. She is said to have been contacted by people from abroad with made-up names through the encrypted messaging services WhatsApp and Signal. – She herself was exposed to fraud a few years ago and they contacted her with the promise of getting hold of the money she had lost, writes Harald Svendsen from the police. The woman believed the people when they said they were from Interpol and showed false papers to prove this, and she allowed herself to be recruited as an “agent”, according to Svenden. – She got an employment contract and the promise of a solid salary, he says. Many are defrauded again The woman is said to have then been given a list of people whom she should contact to tell them that Interpol had tracked down money they had previously lost. – Her task was then to put the aggrieved parties in contact with “Interpol”. And it seems more credible when a woman with a Norwegian dialect makes contact, explains Pål Harald Svendsen. The police call this form of fraud, “recovery scam”. – This takes place to a large extent today and we always warn the victims who have been defrauded once to be wary of people who want to help them get the money. The woman herself reported The woman must have later realized that she has been tricked and must have made a counter-report against the people who pretended to be from Interpol, the police confirm to news. The woman’s defender Torleiv Drangsland says that the case has come as a shock to the client. – She has done everything in the best of intentions, and never thought that her actions would affect others in this way, he says. Pål Harald Svendsen in the police writes that part of the police’s investigation consists in finding out who it is that has pretended to be from Interpol. – But it is a difficult task. On a general basis, these are often people who are part of an organized criminal network abroad, says Svendsen. Published 20.08.2024, at 17.31 Updated 20.08.2024, at 18.40
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Investigating extensive fraud case – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
