Highway Heists: Spanish Roads Become Hunting Ground for Cunning Thieves Targeting Tourists

The French Embassy in Spain is alerting travelers to the stratagems used by thieves on Spanish roads. On its website, it urges French tourists to remain vigilant and cautious in the face of certain situations created by thieves to strip them. Among these, the technique of the punctured tire. The embassy recommends being careful of people who ask for help, as "they may be thieves whose accomplices have punctured the tire a few moments earlier".

Some criminals can simulate any breakdown and signal to drivers to get them to stop. Others, more ingenious, pose as police officers. They are often encountered in the Madrid region. Aboard an "unmarked" car, they overtake the targeted vehicle and one of them brandishes a fake police badge and orders the driver to pull over on the side of the road. Then they take advantage of a semblance of a search to deprive the drivers of their money and other valuables.

To avoid falling into their traps, the embassy recommends not stopping on the road, no matter the reason, and not trusting strangers. If a driver has requested a tow truck with an SOS terminal, he must ensure that the vehicle delivered is indeed that of the company contacted. For any other information, tourists are asked to contact the police.