PSP registers three-fold increase in number of scams reported
Scams are on the increase in Portugal. They fleeced citizens of more than €110 million in 2023, accounting for 17.44% of all crimes – three times as many as in the year before.
In a statement today, PSP (Public Security Police) acknowledge that the number of scams has been increasing over the past few years – with 46,836 recorded in 2022 and 61,916 in 2023.
Last year there was a 21% increase in the number compared to 2022, representing a 24.3% rise (15,080) in the total number of scams reported.
In the statement, PSP stress that despite the high number of reports, arrest rates are low, given the difficulty in detecting the suspects in flagrante delicto and then arresting them. This is a “very complex type of crime to investigate”, the force explains.
In 2021, 38 people were arrested, in 2022, 58; last year 79.
According to the PSP, elderly people continue to be scammers’ preferred victims – but in line with technological developments, people of all age groups are being targeted.
In the note, the PSP stresses that the “most effective way to avoid becoming a victim of a scam is to “suspect and doubt people” one doesn’t know. This includes businesses that may be offering “too many dividends too quickly”.
The note also advises victims to report scams to authorities, as this is the only way to start the criminal investigation process – and the only way authorities can try and bring a stop to this scourge.
In this sense, the PSP stresses that people should not to make any kind of money transfer to anyone who advertises on the internet, without being sure that that advertiser is legitimate. All email exchanges, photos and messages, etc., must be kept in case transactions do not ‘go through’ and people realise they have been scammed.
The PSP note also advises people not to access addresses sent via emails from other platforms, to ask for references or additional data about products for sale/ properties to be rented or the subject of the contract in general, and to search for the advertiser’s details and contacts.
With regard to scams carried out in person, the PSP advises people to contact the police if they detect any strange movement in their building or neighborhood and not to open the door if unknown people knock asking for information or requesting personal data.
Source: LUSA
