Suspect Stole 87,000 SEK from Stockholm Restaurants Using Fake Swish Payments

A 31-year-old man has been charged with aggravated fraud after allegedly defrauding upscale restaurants in central Stockholm out of 87,851 kronor by using fake Swish payment confirmations. The fraudulent activities reportedly occurred over 31 separate occasions from late January to early August 2025. The investigation began when a restaurant owner near Stureplan alerted police to repeated cheating incidents. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that no legitimate payments had been received by these establishments.

Prosecutor Conrad Karlsson Palmcrantz detailed that the course of the scheme involved the man displaying fabricated payment confirmations through a forged Swish app, convincing staff that he had settled his bills. As a result, the suspect misled restaurant personnel, who believed the transactions were valid. Witnesses noted that he often dined with others, though no further charges have been filed against those individuals. This case has raised concerns within the restaurant industry about the safety of using Swish payments, particularly given reports of sophisticated forgery applications used to generate false confirmations.

The accused, who has a criminal record and has previously exhibited aggressive behavior in restaurants, remains uncooperative with police and consistently refuses to provide information during questioning. The investigation continues as many restaurants consider additional security measures against such fraudulent activities.