Spanish Police Bust International Fraud Ring: Over 1,000 Victims, €1 Million Stolen

According to the daily Assabah, the members of this mafia were originally from Morocco, Spain, Nigeria, Guinea and Cameroon. The network managed to scam more than 200 Spanish citizens, as well as companies making gains exceeding one million euros.

Several methods were used by the members of the criminal network in their fraud operations, report Spanish media. "Phishing" allowed them to recover the banking details of their victims, by posing as commercial representatives of large industrial structures.

As for "skimming", it is the fraudulent use of means of payment. It allows, by scanning the magnetic strip of bank cards, to falsify them, for fraudulent use. The network also proceeded to steal bank cards by hacking personal data, via the internet.

The purchases made by the members of the network concerned airline tickets, the booking of luxury hotel rooms, the rental and purchase of cars. A complaint filed by a car rental company in the city of Alicante helped dismantle the criminal gang. It scammed more than 1,000 Spanish citizens, in addition to about twenty victims in France, Greece, Denmark, Israel and Germany.