Police investigate cash requests in Espoo as suspected fraud

Yle reports that police in Western Uusimaa received several reports in July about men in Espoo, a city in southern Finland, who claimed to have lost their bank cards and asked passers-by to withdraw cash for them.

The suspected offences took place in shopping centres. The adult men promised to repay the cash through a bank transfer and showed an app on their phones that supposedly confirmed the payment.

No transfer was actually made. The men received up to almost 300 euros and claimed to be from elsewhere, according to police. The cases are being investigated as minor fraud or fraud.