Police clearing up series of Internet scams in Central Uusimaa
Swindler alleged to have offered non-existent computers for auction sale
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Police in Central Uusimaa are holding a 25-year-old man from Tuusula on suspicion of a series of scams related to Internet auctions.
The investigations have revealed about 30 separate cases of fraud, but the number may still grow. The Tuusula District Court has remanded the man in custody pending further investigations.
In the course of the past summer and into the early autumn, the suspect allegedly offered computers and mobile phones for sale through Internet auctions. After making a deal, the man did not deliver the goods, but kept the money.
The arrested man made his transactions through the well-known Internet auction site Huuto.net. Dozens of people were cheated all over Finland.
In individual cases, the scale of the losses incurred by those duped has varied from some tens of euros up to a thousand euros. So far, the man is believed to have fraudulently gained about EUR 14,000 in profit.
The man remanded in custody is also suspected of being behind another similar series of swindles involving 45 different Internet frauds that were committed last spring.
The amount of profit the man took out of his alleged dodgy deals last spring was close to EUR 18,000. He was also remanded in custody in connection with that series of offices.
The investigations of the current series of scams will be completed by the end of November. If possible, the hearings of both sets of frauds will be held at the Tuusula District Court simultaneously.
Helsingin Sanomat
