The method involves offering sewage flushing against payment. The municipalities that have issued warnings are Vara, Flen, Nyköping and Söderköping.
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Fraud crimes are becoming more and more common in Sweden. According to The Crime Prevention Council (BRÅ), the number of reported frauds has increased by over 50 percent in ten years. Nils Gustavssonhead of the Technical Administration in Vara, urges residents to be careful.
– If something seems doubtful, ask to see an agreement and contact the municipality to verify, he says Swedish Radio.
BRÅ also believes that telephone fraud is the type of fraud that worries most of those they have interviewed.
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Difficult to get compensation
In the last five years, the number of applications for criminal damage compensation as a result of fraud has doubled. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of applications for the crime type increased by 23 percent. Of the approximately 1,000 applications for criminal damage compensation for fraud crimes that came in in 2023, the Crime Victims’ Authority was unable to provide compensation in a single case.
– We are in daily contact with people who have lost all their savings or taken out loans due to fraud. They are sad and feel ashamed of having been deceived. Of course, it does not feel good to have to inform them that they cannot receive any compensation for criminal damage, says Magnus Öhrnhead of the criminal damage unit at the Crime Victims’ Agency, in one statement.
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