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Police find Swedish car packed with ‘fake’ cash

Swedish police have launched an investigation into suspected money laundering after two men were stopped with their car full of $50,000 in what is believed to be counterfeit dollar notes.

Published: 18 September 2015 10:04 CEST

Police find Swedish car packed with 'fake' cash

Stock picture of US dollar notes. Photo: AP Photo/Karel Navarro

The men, aged 23 and 19, were stopped in a routine police vehicle control operation near Kungsbacka, just south of Gothenburg, along the E6 motorway through western Sweden.

But when taking a closer look at the car they were travelling in, officers found stacks of dollar bills to a value of $50,000 (409,430 kronor) stashed away in the vehicle.

“The money was confiscated. We suspect counterfeit notes may be involved,” regional police spokesperson Thomas Fuxborg told the TT news agency.

The two men were brought in for questioning but were later released. However, Fuxborg said they remained under suspicion of money laundering as the investigation continued on Friday.

“The bank notes will now be examined by experts,” he added.

READ ALSO: Sweden set for brand new bank notes

Counterfeit money has been a rising problem for Sweden in recent years. The issue was brought to a head in May when the national financial watchdog (Finansinspektionen) fined two of the country's leading banks, Nordea and Handelsbanken, over lax anti-money laundering controls.

More than 100 billion kronor are laundered in Sweden every year, the watchdog said at the time.

“It is extremely important that this societal problem is counteracted by banks doing what they can to prevent criminals from laundering gains from criminal activities or organisations and people from financing terrorism,” it said.

How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Anyone who earned more than 22,208 kronor last year received their tax returns digitally last week, marking the start of tax season.

That also means an expected peak in tax-related scams, Skatteverket warns.

Most of the scams are so-called phishing scams, meaning attempts to steal the victims’ personal information. Fraudsters may for example email a person, pretending to represent Skatteverket, and ask them for, among other things, their banking details.

“We’re seeing these in all channels. They use fake emails, SMS, letters and in some cases even phone calls. It is particularly common in tax declaration times – just when we’re about to send out the tax returns, the e-service opens and it’s possible to declare – but above all when it’s time for tax rebates,” Jan Janowski, a Skatteverket expert, told Swedish news agency TT.

A scam email might for example state that you’re entitled to a tax rebate and that you should click a link to receive it. Don’t click any links, open any attachments or reply to the message. Skatteverket advises that you immediately delete the email or text message.

Another common scam is that you receive a text message claiming to be from Skatteverket, telling you that you owe them money and you need to log in to calculate the amount. The website you’re urged to log in via does not belong to Skatteverket. Don’t click the link.

The agency stresses that it never asks people for their banking details. The exception is that you may be asked for your bank account information if you log into Skatteverket’s website to declare your taxes, but that always first requires you to log into the site.

To receive your tax rebate, you need to inform Skatteverket of your bank account number. You do this not by clicking a link in an email or SMS, but by logging into their website using a digital ID, for example BankID, and submitting your details. Only do this on your own initiative. If someone calls you and asks you to log in with your BankID during the phone call, don’t do it. That’s another common scam.

Skatteverket will also never call you to ask for your bank account or credit card number.

It will be possible to declare your taxes from March 19th. You’ll receive any tax rebate you’re owed by mid-April or early June, depending on when you submit your tax return. These are the dates when fraudsters are likely to attempt the most scams.

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