The Lab

    Our videos

    Short videos we make ourselves, by topic. Tap or click a video to watch it. They're on our own server, so no video platform is watching along.

    Pick a video

    For people over 60: how fraudsters work

    Calm one-minute videos about real cases. Watch them yourself, or together with your parents or grandparents.

    True stories: fraud at work

    Four real cases in thriller style, 30 seconds each, with the rule that would have stopped it.

    Phishing, with a wink

    Short and funny: don't just click, and prove you're human.

    What we make

    Websites, online shops, software, local AI, IT security and shirts.

    More in the Lab

    How safely do you work?

    Ten questions, a score and tips on what to do now. No login and no e-mail address.

    Take the security check
    Back to the Lab

    Switch on what you are happy with. You can change this any time with the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of every page.

    Make the site and the shop work: your basket, checkout, logging in, security and remembering your cookie choice. Always on.

    Which cookies and storage?
    • Cookie choice - Remembers what you chose in the cookie banner.
      tde_consent
    • WooCommerce - The shop: your basket, checkout and order.
      woocommerce_cart_hash, woocommerce_items_in_cart, wp_woocommerce_session_*, store_notice*, woocommerce_recently_viewed, wc_cart_hash_*, wc_fragments_*, wc-blocks_*, wc_cart_*, storeApiCartData, storeApiCartHash, storeApiNonce
    • WordPress - Logging in to your customer account or the admin.
      wordpress_logged_in_*, wordpress_sec_*, wordpress_test_cookie, wp-settings-*
    • Mollie - Payment. When you pay you go to Mollie, which uses its own cookies on its own pages. Nothing on this site.
    • Contact form - Keeps spam out of the contact form.
      tde_puzzle

    Remember small choices in your own browser: light or dark mode, calm mode, your triangle hunt progress and your best game score. Nothing is sent to us.

    Which cookies and storage?
    • Your preferences - Small choices, stored only in your browser.
      tdevo_*

    Count visits with Matomo on our own server, so we know what is useful. No advertising, no selling, no profiles across sites.

    Which cookies and storage?
    • Order source (WooCommerce) - Which page or campaign led to an order. Only with your consent.
      sbjs_*

    Videos and maps from other services (for example YouTube). They can set their own cookies when they load.

    Which cookies and storage?
    • YouTube - Videos, loaded only after you click (privacy-enhanced mode).
      set by YouTube

    Real story - 2024

    'The police' come to collect your jewellery

    A 77-year-old woman in Eindhoven

    What happened
    One evening in December 2024 'the police' called: criminals were after her home, two of them had been arrested and two had not. She had to stay on the line for over an hour and was not allowed to talk to anyone. Her valuables would be collected and kept safe, and they agreed on a code word: 'papegaai' (Dutch for parrot). At about half past seven a young man at the door said the code word. He took her bank card, her jewellery box and a necklace she had been given shortly before her husband died, and even asked for a bag to carry it all. That same day four more reports like this came in from her neighbourhood.
    Why it worked
    Authority, fear and isolation: someone who stays on the line for an hour and may not talk to anyone cannot be warned by anyone. The code word only made the fake officer more believable.
    What it cost
    By the end of October 2025 the Dutch police had registered more than 10,000 incidents with fake police officers, against 520 in the whole of 2023. The criminals mainly target people aged 70 and over.
    What would have stopped it
    The police never collect money, bank cards or jewellery from you and never ask you to keep anything secret. Hang up, call 112 yourself and talk to someone you trust.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 4 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.

    Real story - 2023

    Her grandson's voice, cloned with AI

    Grandparents aged 73 and 75 in Canada, and the parents of a man in Canada

    What happened
    In 2023 a grandmother in Canada got a call from 'her grandson': he was in jail, without his wallet or phone, and needed money for bail. It sounded exactly like him. With her husband she withdrew 3,000 Canadian dollars at their bank, the daily maximum, and they went to a second bank for more. There a bank manager took them aside: another customer had had a call just like it, and that voice had turned out to be fake. 'We were convinced that we were talking to him', she said later. Another family got a call from a 'lawyer': their son had caused a fatal accident and needed money for the court case. They briefly heard 'him' too, and sent 21,000 Canadian dollars through bitcoin.
    Why it worked
    A voice you trust, fear and urgency. A few recorded sentences are enough to clone a voice.
    What it cost
    The grandparents were warned in time by a bank manager. The other family lost 21,000 Canadian dollars. In research for the Dutch government (2024) only 4 per cent could tell for sure that the cloned voice of a well-known radio presenter was fake.
    What would have stopped it
    Hang up and call back yourself on the number you already have, not with the call-back button. Ask something only that person can know, or agree a code word in the family.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 4 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.

    Real story - 2025

    The prime minister recommends an investment. Except it wasn't him.

    Facebook users in the Netherlands

    What happened
    In 2025 a fake video of the Dutch prime minister appeared on Facebook, together with journalists of the Dutch public broadcaster. He recommended an investment platform: the Dutch central bank would guarantee it and your household would earn a steady income from it. Whoever clicked landed on a fake news site, left a phone number and had to put in 250 euros first. Then 'investment advisers' called and asked for more and more money. The video was shown almost 250,000 times.
    Why it worked
    A famous face, an institution you trust and a small first amount. Then comes the pressure, over the phone.
    What it cost
    Victims can lose thousands of euros in a short time. In 2025 investment fraud caused the highest damage to private persons of all types of fraud reported to the Dutch Fraud Helpdesk, 34.1 million euros.
    What would have stopped it
    Don't click ads in which famous people recommend an investment, and don't believe in guaranteed profit. Never leave your phone number, and report such an ad to the Fraud Helpdesk.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 4 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.

    Real story - 2025

    'This is your bank's fraud department'

    Thousands of Dutch bank customers

    What happened
    A 'bank employee' calls, sometimes with the bank's real number on screen. Something odd is happening on your account and your money has to go to a 'safe account' for now. Or your card is no longer safe and a courier will collect it. Sometimes you're asked to install a program such as AnyDesk so they can 'help'. The callers often already know your name, your account number and sometimes even your latest payments.
    Why it worked
    Fear, urgency and authority, made believable with data from earlier phishing or leaks and a spoofed phone number. Sometimes it starts with a phishing e-mail, after which 'the bank' calls about a threat to your account.
    What it cost
    In the Netherlands in 2025, 25.8 million euros from just under 5,900 victims. Just over 45 per cent was reimbursed as a goodwill gesture.
    What would have stopped it
    Your bank never asks you to move money to a 'safe account', never collects your card and never asks for remote access. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card yourself.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 3 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.

    Real story - 2024

    The finance director on the video call was fake

    A finance employee at the Hong Kong office of an international engineering firm

    What happened
    It started with a message that seemed to come from the chief financial officer in the UK, about a secret transaction. At first the employee suspected phishing. Then came a video call with the CFO and other colleagues, who looked and sounded just like the people the employee knew. According to the police, everyone on that call was fake except the employee. Fifteen transfers followed. It only came out when the employee checked with head office.
    Why it worked
    Authority (the CFO), secrecy and a group of familiar faces removed the doubt. Faces and voices were faked using public videos of the real people. One employee could make fifteen payments without a call-back check or a second approval.
    What it cost
    Some 200 million Hong Kong dollars, about 25.6 million US dollars.
    What would have stopped it
    Never act on a payment instruction from a call or chat until you've called the requester back yourself, on a number you already had. A 'secret' deal that skips the normal route is a stop sign, even when the faces look right.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 3 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.

    Real story - 2018

    A secret takeover in Dubai, paid in six instalments

    The managing director and finance director of a Dutch cinema chain

    What happened
    In March 2018 the Dutch managing director received e-mails that seemed to come from the head of the French parent company. They were about a strictly confidential takeover of a company in Dubai; an adviser from a big accountancy firm would be in touch. Contact was only allowed through 'my personal e-mail', never by phone, and not even colleagues could know. Six payments to Dubai followed within three weeks. It only came out when the French head office asked questions about the money.
    Why it worked
    Authority, urgency and above all secrecy that blocked every normal check: no phone calls, not a word to colleagues. There were doubts ('A strange process. Never seen anything like it'), but a phone call was brushed off and nobody rang the real chief executive on a known number.
    What it cost
    More than 19.2 million euros. Both directors lost their jobs.
    What would have stopped it
    Secrecy plus urgency plus a new account means: stop. Call the requester back on a number you already had, never one from the e-mail. No payment instruction may forbid you to involve a colleague.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 3 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.

    Real story - 2026

    A fake IT colleague calls customer service

    Customer service staff at a large Dutch telecoms provider, and millions of customers

    What happened
    In early February 2026 a man speaking good Dutch phoned customer service. He posed as a colleague from the IT department: a problem needed fixing, and for that the employee had to log in to an internal system. On a fake login page the employee entered a username, a password and a verification code. The data of millions of customers was then downloaded in a short time. Later, fraudsters called customers about 'compensation' for the breach and asked them for a text code.
    Why it worked
    A colleague from IT, a problem that needs fixing now, and English IT jargon sprinkled through the Dutch. The extra security step was bypassed because the employee handed over the code. According to NOS, access was also set up too broadly and no alarm went off during the large download. The company only learned of the theft when the criminals got in touch themselves.
    What it cost
    Data from 6.2 million customer accounts, including IBANs and ID document numbers. The company refused to pay a ransom and the data was published.
    What would have stopped it
    Real IT never asks you to log in through a link they give you on the phone, and never asks for your code. Hang up and call the service desk back on the internal number. As a customer: your provider doesn't call about compensation, and you never pass on a text code.

    The full story (opens the original source):

    Summary by 3D-eVo in our own words, checked against the sources on 3 October 2026. The source is in charge of its own story.