In Suriname, dozens of people have recently been scammed through Facebook. According to the advertisers, they received a message via Facebook in which they were promised gifts, but they had to pay the handling and customs costs themselves. After some time, those involved again receive a message that the package has arrived and that they have to pay the costs to a specific account number. It was only after the deposit that the advertisers discovered that there was no question of the gift, but that they had simply been scammed.

In this way, criminals deprived a number of people of large sums of money in SRD. During the police investigation, Lucy B. The 55-year-old is pictured, and it turns out that a number of victims had deposited money into her account, which she has since handed over to third parties. B. He was tracked down and arrested on March 3, 2023 on suspicion of participating in a criminal organization and complicity in fraud.

After consulting with the Public Prosecution Service of Suriname, the suspected Lucy has been detained by the police pending investigation.

According to the Suriname Police Force People like Lucy are known internationally as money mules or money mules. They intentionally allow their bank accounts to be misused for criminal activities by, among other things, handing over money obtained through crime to third parties or money laundering. Their compensation usually consists of deducting part of the amount of money deposited.

Moreover, it has been proven that many people are endorsing this act recently. The police therefore appeal to the community to refrain from this criminal behavior as it constitutes a criminal offence. It also demands that society not respond to all kinds of attractive offers made by strangers through social media.

Any affected parties are urged to contact the Fraud Department to file a report. This department is located at Geyersvlijt Police Station and can be reached at telephone numbers 455830/451313.