Interest rates are moving, and many entrepreneurs in the Netherlands are scanning the horizon for a safe place to park cash reserves. A pop-up advert appears: a well-known international financial brand, offering a fixed-rate savings account with a return just a little better than the market average.
It feels realistic. It feels safe. It looks professional.
But it is a scam.
How the scam plays out
The mechanism is disturbingly simple yet highly polished:
- The bait: An online advert promotes a “special savings account.” The rates are not outrageous — just enough above the market to look attractive but not suspicious.
- The hook: A form is filled in. Soon after, a caller rings back, speaking flawless English or Dutch, walking you through the process.
- The illusion: You are guided to open a genuine account with the real financial service provider. The scammers dress this up as a savings product, even sending emails with the correct logo and official address.
- The switch: While setting up your account, the scammers secretly connect the two-factor authentication and virtual card details to their devices. Through tools like Apple Pay, they siphon off your “deposit” into accounts under their control.
The whole set-up feels legitimate: official branding, professional communication, and plausible returns. That’s why it works.
Why entrepreneurs fall for it
- Brand recognition: Big names inspire trust. Seeing a logo lowers the guard.
- Professionalism: Social media adverts, slick phone operators, realistic documentation.
- Plausibility: The interest rates are good, but not absurd. Just enough to make you believe.
This isn’t amateur fraud. This is organised crime with a marketing budget.
What you need to know
- Reputable fintechs and payment companies rarely, if ever, offer traditional savings accounts. If the product type feels unusual, double-check directly with the provider.
- A genuine financial institution will never ask you to hand over control of your two-factor authentication or link cards to someone else’s device.
- If the process involves pressure, urgency, or secrecy, it is almost certainly fraud.
The governance lesson for Dutch SMEs
For micro and small enterprises, protecting working capital is survival. Falling for one of these scams can wipe out liquidity in days. The core rule is simple: plausibility is not proof.
- Always verify the product: Does the financial brand truly offer this kind of account? If not, everything else is just theatre.
- Separate trust from branding: A logo is not security. A caller with smooth language is not legitimacy.
- Build internal checks: Before moving significant sums, apply a two-step review, one person initiates, another verifies the product independently.
In short: don’t judge the offer by how real it looks, but by whether it actually exists in the provider’s portfolio.