Alex Trelinski
A ROMANIAN man, 52, has been arrested by the Policia Nacional in Alicante for defrauding 19 people out of €133,000 via a ‘phishing’ scam.
He was part of a Valencian based gang that operated in Spain and abroad which sent bogus text messages to recipients who clicked on links and supplied personal bank details.
The investigation was launched in October 2022 when police observed a pattern of complaints over bank scams.
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The victims from across Spain and aged between 19 and 75 years of age, reported having received a fraudulent SMS on their mobile phones with a link pretending to be from their bank.
This link was accompanied by a brief text message asking them for their bank card number, ID card and online banking access code, in order to update their details or else their account would be suspended.
The fraudsters then changed the postal address and phone number associated with the account and took out cards or applied for personal loans.
The new addresses were holiday homes located in Alicante province- a common thread discovered during the police probe,
Mailboxes were easily accessible by the crooks and they got hold of the new bank cards which they used for shop purchases or to make cash withdrawals at ATMs throughout the province.
Three men were identified as being involved including the detained perpetrator.
He was assigned the specific role of physically obtaining the bank cards and then distributing them to his colleagues- some of whom visited Spain specially to take part in the fraud.
The police swooped on the Romanian suspect when he was leaving a prominent Alicante shopping centre.
He had been using the fraudulently obtained cards to make several purchases, including jewellery.
He had two bank cards on him with the names of two people that had been conned.
The Policia Nacional has warned people not to click on any text messages of emails that are not expected and claim to have links to bank websites.
They remind everybody that banks do not carry out transactions in such a way and if in doubt, you should phone your bank.
The police also recommend holiday home owners to ask somebody they trust to clear their mailbox when they are away.
