Beware of scams involving fake correspondence from Europol

Scammers are calling and messaging individuals under the false pretence of representing Europol. The fraudsters tell their victims that they are involved in serious crimes or are victims of a crime such as identity theft. They then urge the victims to provide personal information and make payments, while impersonating Europol officials. 

We have also been made aware these scammers are able to make it appear as if their phone calls originate from real Europol numbers. This is called ‘phone spoofing’, which is the use of fake caller ID information to mask the true source of an incoming call.

Scammers are also contacting people via text message, asking them download an app. This app may even feature the Europol logo, and claims to be about EU reports, but please beware that this is fake and installing this bogus app would expose your device to malware. 

This is fake! Europol will never call or message citizens regarding such claims and will never ask them to download apps or make payments!

Please note, it's not just Europol's name being used in these scams. EMPACT and other platforms are now being mentioned too. They will also never contact you, remain vigilant.

We have been made aware of scams involving fake correspondence claiming to be from a number of departments at Europol, as well as from its Executive Director, other senior members of staff, and various international law enforcement officials. Emails and messages on social media, written in multiple languages, have been falsely using the names of senior Europol staff including Catherine De Bolle, Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, and Jürgen Ebner, in order to sound serious and legitimate. Scams have also been attempted via fake letters sent by third companies claiming to be acting on behalf of Europol. 

Don’t be misled – all of this correspondence is fake. Neither Europol nor any of its staff would ever directly contact members of the public requesting immediate action or threatening individuals with opening a criminal investigation. Europol does not issue fines or contact members of the public requesting payments.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE TARGETED BY THESE SCAMS

If you receive a suspicious email or phone call claiming to come from a department or member of staff at Europol, please immediately report the matter to your local or national police. The authorities will then contact Europol if required. Europol does not take reports from citizens directly and cannot investigate individual reports.

To find out where and how to report a crime, please visit the dedicated section of our website.

To learn more about how to protect yourself from scams such as these, read our cyber scam prevention guide.