Lost 999 euros to fraudsters? Due to a lack of staff, the East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office will no longer accept cases of internet fraud under 1,000 euros.

The East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office no longer accepts cases of internet fraud if the victim has lost less than a thousand euros. This is a result of too few staff to handle all cases, the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to VRTNWS. “The large number of reports does not allow the police and the judiciary to subject each report to a thorough investigation.”

However, the Belgian police registered a (paradoxical) decrease in internet fraud in 2023. This was the first decrease since 2017. These figures are of course based on known victims. In all cases of internet fraud reported to the police, there are also victims who do not want to report it.

The public prosecutor’s office hopes that victims who have been defrauded of “smaller” amounts will continue to take the step of reporting the crime. Even if no investigations follow, every report can provide useful clues to track down criminal gangs, they say.

Lower limit for internet fraud

Such a “lower limit” for Internet fraud is not unusual. This has previously been reported by the public prosecutors of West Flanders, Limburg and Leuven, among others. The reason given was repeatedly a lack of staff to carefully handle each case.

The exact amount varies from region to region. The West Flemish public prosecutor’s office only investigates cases of internet fraud if the amount is above 2,500 euros. In Limburg, 500 euros is enough to initiate an investigation.

The East Flemish Public Prosecutor’s Office confirms that the lower limit of one thousand euros only applies to phishing and other forms of internet fraud. “Other forms of cybercrime know no borders, such as hacking, malware and ransomware,” says VRTNWS.