News
Man arrested by National Police for scamming over 200,000 euros

A 24-year-old guy in Seville has been taken into custody by National Police officers on suspicion of committing over 70 frauds. He worked in a number of places throughout Spain, including Bilbao, Cádiz, Seville, Granada, and Málaga. He called victims, pretended to be a security department employee at different banks, and used a variety of techniques to trick them into giving him a lot of money. Nine cell phones and a PC were found during the search.
Following a report from a victim who had been robbed of €37,700 through vishing and smishing, the inquiry got underway in late 2023.
What are vishing and smishing?
Smishing is a tactic when a hacker sends a victim an SMS posing as a trustworthy organization—in this case, a bank—with the intention of obtaining personal data or collecting money. Under false pretences, the message usually asks consumers to call a premium-rate number or click on a link to a phoney website—the latter being the technique employed by the scammer. The criminal was able to access and examine the victim’s bank account in detail while they typed their passwords. This strengthened their deceit by ensuring the user’s faith and enabling them to, for instance, list the previous three charges made by each of them in their own accounts.
Another kind of social engineering fraud is called “vishing,” which is a phone call that poses as a business to get the victim’s private information. The suspect in this scam likewise uses this pretext.
The suspect had information about each victim before reaching out to them, which he utilised to support his claimed position as a bank security guard, even going so far as to use spoofing.
Spoofing: What is it?
Spoofing, which means to lie or deceive, is a widely popular identity theft tactic, particularly when done by email. In this instance, the criminal took advantage of an application that made it possible to change the user’s phone number. By altering it to the name of a bank department, the caller increased the legitimacy of his hoax.
He specifically pretended to prevent a transfer from the fictitious security department of the victims’ individual banks in order to reap the financial gain, after which he indicated that some fictitious instructions were being monitored that would end the operation. The transfer was executed as a result of these instructions, and the author also carried out the process with other transfer applications.
Internet credit, consumer credit, fast money, and more.
The stolen funds were all received in different bank accounts that were also formed by using prepaid mobile phone lines to trick their holders into accepting fictitious work offers.
After viewing the advertisement and providing their phone number, the new victims were led through an instant messaging app to register several bank accounts without getting paid.
Following a rigorous investigation by the Judicial Group of the District Police Station of Abastos and the Cybercrime Group of the Provincial Brigade of the Judicial Police of Valencia, the officers were able to locate the suspect. Despite his numerous movements throughout Spanish territory, the officers were able to arrest him at the end of November of last year and confiscate a computer and nine cell phones, which he used to commit the crimes.
A man with no previous police record who committed fraud, identity theft, and money laundering has been brought before a judge.
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Hospitality and recreation establishments in Elche receive 36 infringement reports from local police

The Elche Local Police conducted an operation that involved inspecting thirteen hospitality and leisure outlets in various neighbourhoods, resulting in one arrest and 36 violations. The data was made public on Friday, 28th March, mainly as a reminder of the work that is being done. Councilman Juan de Dios Navarro gave the police top for their efforts.
According to local police inspector José Antonio Corrales, the majority of the infractions included drug usage and possession, including four for cocaine possession and seven for hashish, as well as improper company documentation. Additionally, there were two reports for disturbing the peace or disrespecting law enforcement, four for not following the minimum hygienic standards for food storage, one serious infraction for conducting the activity after hours and behind closed doors, and seven for irregularities found on the property, including improper documentation.
Additionally, officers found six infractions for permitting smoking in unapproved indoor locations, three for type “B” slot machine identification guide deficiencies, and one major infraction for emergency escape and door flaws. Additionally, a report was made about the selling of illegal tobacco at a pub, where 20 packets were confiscated and one individual was detained on court order and imprisoned.
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Visitor to Catral cemetery locked inside

As nightfall approached on one of these soggy spring days in March, a young man decided it would be a good idea to visit a cousin or acquaintance’s grave and take a walk through the cemetery. Because the cemetery still closes its (automatic) gates at six o’clock at this time of year, but without the winter gloom that may discourage anyone from going.
However, the door was locked when he attempted to exit. The visitor didn’t seem to want to spend any more time among the cemeteries, despite the cemetery’s reputation as a particularly tranquil spot. Unaware of the placard bearing the mobile phone number for anyone needing help, he dashed out the gate. It was all on camera.
Joaquín Lucas, the mayor of Catral, maintains that this occurrence is unrelated to the privatisation of the cemetery works and feels that management by an outside company is an efficient approach to provide this service in a municipal office. He went on to say that the young man who who was locked in is from the nearby municipality of Dolores rather than Catral.
The local police took to social media and atacked the man’s “reckless” behaviour. He has been named in connection with “criminal proceedings for a crime against another’s property.” Nonetheless, the business will be liable for any damages brought on by the damaged door anchors.
In addition to clarifying that the business employs two workers—a gravedigger and a labourer who maintains the communal areas and restrooms—the Councillor for Services, Daniel Escudero, reaffirmed that the automatic door is an option offered by the company itself.
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Five arrested in Alicante and Murcia for shoplifting

Five individuals involved in grocery theft have been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil. In the regions of Alicante and Murcia, the thieves were stealing in a number of locations for a well-known supermarket company. The things that were stolen are worth over 8,000 euros in total.
The investigation started after the retail chain representative filed a complaint. The pattern was consistent across all cases: three or four people went into the store, and one of them loaded up a cart with expensive things like canned goods, extra virgin olive oil, sausages, or alcoholic drinks. The last one hurried out of the grocery without paying, and another diverted the attention of the staff.
It was discovered that the same people were responsible for the crimes in multiple towns in Alicante and Murcia after examining the security footage from the impacted businesses. Since the suspects did not live in the residences where they were registered and lacked a stable address, it was very difficult to find them.
Shortly after committing another theft at a store in a suburban neighbourhood of Rojales (Alicante), officers caught two of the suspects off guard and took them into custody. Many of the stolen goods were found at that time and brought back to the impacted business.
The other three were later taken into custody in the cities of Almoradí (Alicante) and Guardamar del Segura. The majority of the pilfered items were sold on. Additionally, the two cars that were utilised in the crimes were taken.
Eleven thefts have been resolved as a consequence of the investigation conducted by the Novelda Civil Guard’s investigation section. The cities of Novelda, Torrevieja, Almoradí, Catral, and Rojales in Alicante as well as the municipalities of San Javier, Jumilla, San Pedro del Pinatar, Cartagena, Archena, and Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia were the sites of these crimes.
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