The Spanish police have successfully dismantled a very large-scale investment fraud operation that was based in the country. This criminal operation caused cumulative damages exceeding $11.8 million, which is the equivalent of ten million euros. The coordinated raids were carried out by the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Civil Guard, and also the National Police. Along with the arrests, police agents confiscated seven luxury vehicles and over $1.5 million in cash.
The group operated as a shell investment company, advertising its fraudulent services on various popular social media platforms. They persuaded their victims to make fake investments through a network of fake advisors and financial experts. They also used manipulated websites that looked legitimate and telephone call centers to further deceive their many victims. The scammers offered investments in prestigious companies or in the cryptocurrency sector to lure in their unsuspecting targets. This modus operandi is very similar to “romance baiting” or “pig butchering” scams that are common today.
These fake investment portals even allow small withdrawals at the start to build trust with the victims.
Once bigger investments occur, all withdrawals are locked, and the scammers impose some additional fake clearance taxes. These fake processing fees are designed only to steal even more money from the desperate fraud victims. In this operation, the scammers used call centers that mimicked professional investment firms to seem more legitimate. The Barcelona-based call centers supporting the operation were rented for short periods to hinder any police investigations.
During simultaneous raids in Barcelona, Madrid, and other cities, twenty-one individuals were arrested by the police.
The call centers featured a “panic button” that would automatically shut down all systems during a police raid. The presence of such call centers in Spain is unusual, as they are typically hosted in Asian countries. This is because evading law enforcement is often easier in those specific regions than it is in Europe. Since 2022, Spanish authorities have received more than three hundred complaints from victims all across the country. Last week, authorities in Spain dismantled an even larger cryptocurrency investment fraud ring that laundered over $540 million.
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