Criminal gangs are already recruiting young people through various social media platforms and chat groups to commit violent crimes.
The police are now warning that the gangs are also trying to lure young people into committing fraud for money. Ads on social media may offer, for example, to pay someone to buy prepaid phone cards or lend out their bank account.
The police’s National Operations Department, Noa, has identified more than 70 young people who responded to such ads and said they were ready to take on an assignment.
If these young people and children run out of time, they can be prosecuted for a crime, even if they may perceive the assignment as something small or harmless. Buying prepaid cards or lending out your account contributes to serious crime, Johan Olsson, head of Noa, tells the newspaper.
The list of these young people has been sent to the police regions across the country, which will contact the young people and their parents.
Johan Olsson says the smaller assignments can become a gateway to other crimes.
"Our fear is that it will lead to other assignments. When it comes to violent assignments, we have seen that young people are pressured to do increasingly serious things," he tells DN.