Four convicted over phishing fraud that took over 17,000 euros from Belgian royals

The phishing message

On 23 December 2021 Princess Claire received a text message that appeared to come from Card Stop, saying her bank card had to be blocked. She had lost the card a few days earlier, so the message seemed credible. She clicked the link, landed on a fraudulent website and entered details to identify herself. She closed the site once she grasped what had happened, but the damage was done, and her bank later confirmed she had been the victim of computer fraud. By 4 January 2022, the 52-year-old princess could no longer carry out transactions with her bank cards.

Money moved and spent

More than 17,000 euros was taken from the accounts of Princess Claire and Prince Laurent, including their personal accounts and three accounts over which the princess held power of attorney. VRT NWS puts the total at 17,776 euros and notes that the account receiving the prince's allowance was also hit. The investigation found that between 1 and 4 January 2022 the money was transferred to several Belgian accounts. Part of it was then spent at a nightclub and at a Fnac store in Marbella, Spain, and cash withdrawals were made in Wavre and Mouscron.

Verdict in Leuven

The correctional court in Leuven convicted four defendants of computer fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors said the four made their bank accounts available to receive the defrauded money and launder it. Two of them received 12-month prison sentences, suspended, and a third received a six-month sentence, also suspended. The pronouncement for a fourth defendant was suspended for three years. The prosecution had asked for the acquittal of one defendant after further investigation, and VRT NWS reports sentences of up to one year.

The acquitted woman and her defence

Phone investigators traced the phishing message to a woman from Antwerp, who pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer, Walter Damen, said her phone number had been spoofed, a technique that makes a message appear to come from a different number. The court acquitted her. The prosecutor admitted that she should not have been summoned and that authorities had acted with too much zeal, because only her phone number, linked to a false address, connected her to the case. She told the court she had also been the victim of a scam and had filed a complaint with the Mouscron police, but the prosecution found no trace of it.

Damen described the effect on his client:

“It has had a serious impact on my client. She has not slept for six months.”

The woman had broken down in tears in court in April and denied all the charges.