Alex Trelinski
SIX people have been arrested in the Benidorm and Aspe areas of Alicante province for being part of a cyber scam that netted €1.1 million.
The Spaniards- aged between 24 and 32- were part of a group that specialised in computer fraud.
The Policia Nacional were called in after an Elche bank manager complained that his branch computer systems had been hacked to obtain a personal loan worth €950,000.
External computer servers were used to make the breach with police discovering a well-structured criminal gang that scammed at least 51 victims and controlled over 60 bank accounts.
Prominent online buying and selling sites were scammed to obtain bank passwords to clear out bank accounts.
Gang members even phoned or messaged targets pretending to be bank call centre staff to obtain PIN numbers and passwords.
A network of Spanish and foreign bank accounts were opened with cash laundered into cryptocurrencies.
The security used by the gang was such that the mastermind remained anonymous to people below him in the chain and only communicated with group members on line, which included ‘mules’ who received and laundered the stolen money to get a percentage cut of the profits.
Police searched several homes of those arrested and took away a large amount of computer material, credit cards and cryptocurrencies, as well as fake documentation.
READ MORE:
- Bank scammers in Spain steal €2 million by hijacking customer accounts in latest ‘smishing’ con
- Criminal gang in Spain’s Madrid and Toledo areas stole €250,000 to finance scams by hijacking 140 bank accounts
- NEW SCAM WARNING: Innocent customers in Spain duped by fake email from bank security staff
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