The municipality of Alkmaar received a phantom invoice for 236,000 euros. An employee did not recognize it as a fraudulent invoice and transferred the money to the criminals. After the fraud was discovered, other false invoices found were stopped. The municipality of Alkmaar also investigated the incident.
"The outcome of the investigation was that there were no traces of internal fraud. However, it did show that the administrative process did not sufficiently follow up on detecting fraud and that pressure (inherent to this type of fraud) accelerated the payment process." This is stated in a letter from the College of B and W to the City Council.
"Digital crime or cybercrime is a growing problem, also in Alkmaar," said Christian Schouten, Alkmaar Alderman of Finance. "Many people are ashamed if they have been victims of this form of crime. The municipality is actively campaigning to break that taboo. It can happen to anyone, even so the municipality. And, of course, I am very upset about that. By reporting and sharing experiences, we can warn each other and prevent more people from becoming victims of this form of fraud."
