Spanish Police Hunt Moroccan Cybercrime Ring in Million-Euro Fraud Case

Thirty Moroccans, residing in Morocco and in Ceuta and Melilla, are being sought by the Spanish police for alleged cybercrime, reports Assabah, specifying that the persons concerned would have hacked several company websites in different countries. According to the Spanish authorities, these alleged cybercriminals, organized in networks, would have earned more than one million euros (about ten million dirhams) in activities of personal data hacking and Internet fraud.

Their modus operandi is simple. They send fake emails from banking institutions or telecom operators, or even from trusted individuals to their victims, asking them to provide their personal or financial data. They then exploit this information to divert money from the victims’ bank accounts or usurp their identity to commit crimes.

These Moroccan hackers would have made many victims in Ceuta, according to some reports which reveal that many complaints for large-scale fraud have been registered in the autonomous city, which has raised the concern of the Spanish security services. These reports highlight "the ingenuity of the Moroccans" who use subterfuge to defraud, both Spaniards and Moroccans living in Spain or foreigners visiting the country. Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, the Spanish authorities call for vigilance.