The scammers pretended to be employees of banks to collect private data from their victims.
According to the Spanish police, 273 people were affected by criminals.
In an operation that extended by several Spanish provinces, the National Police arrested 11 people and dismantled a criminal network that used cryptocurrencies to execute scams, causing losses close to one million euros. During the interventions, the agents seized digital assets, 30,000 euros in cash, mobile phones, in addition to jewelry and luxury watches.
The investigation, which began at the beginning of the year, discovered a recurring pattern in several frauds made through the technique of “false banking employee”, that is, The scammers managed to gain the confidence of those affected to obtain sensitive bank datawhich then used to make transfers, buy cryptocurrencies and acquire technological products on behalf of the victims.
Thus, the members of the organization used an extensive customer database to call them directly and warn them of alleged irregular movements in their accounts. When gaining the trust of the victims with this tactic, they managed to obtain the necessary information to carry out their scams.
To evade their detection, the members of the organization used up to 55 different telephone numbers and connected to Wi -Fi networks where they stayed, registering with stolen third parties. In addition, they had a network of “bank mules” in charge of receiving and managing the money obtained through the scams.
During records that were carried out in locations such as San Fernando, Jerez de la Frontera, Chiclana de la Frontera and Sabadell, the authorities discovered that the number of victims was much greater than the initially estimated: 111 people identified at the beginning of the operation, a total of 273 affected were passed, with losses that exceed 778,000 euros.
Among the seized goods were cryptocurrencies worth 7,500 euros27,660 euros in cash, six mobile phones used in the scams, a stolen identity document, luxury watches and jewels, video game consoles, computers and other electronic devices.
Three of the main involved were arrested and made available to the courts of Jerez de la Frontera and Chiclana, while the room remains a fugitive under an active search order, according to reported The Spanish National Police.
The case adds to several operations against criminal networks that, in the first half of 2025, used cryptocurrencies to commit crimes in Spain. As Cryptonotics reported in July, the authorities dismantled four organizations dedicated to mass scams, fiscal fraud and sale of sensitive data, with estimated losses exceeding 10 million euros since 2022.
Those operational, executed jointly by the National Police, the Civil Guard and the Mossos d’Esquadra (the Autonomous Police of Catalonia), allowed to arrest more than 20 people and confiscate important goods, including luxury vehicles, weapons, cryptocurrencies for hundreds of thousands of euros and other objects of high value.