Just as the use of new technologies has experienced a great increase in the number of users, the number of criminals specializing in cybercrime has reached very high levels, this number has not even known a ceiling yet, but has increased its motivation. Civil Guard implements tools to combat it. From this idea arose what is known as ‘October of last year’.Teams‘ is a springboard with greater internationalization between citizen safety where complaints reach and the Technological Investigation Teams (EDITE) responsible for a more complex type of crime. “Just as a pickpocket in Plaza de España is not the same as someone stealing a bank safe, the same thing happens with cybercrime. Common sense is important to avoid this, check every incoming message or email and strengthen security with a good antivirus. In addition, more and more small and medium-sized companies are outsourcing protection,” explains First Corporal Francisco Álvarez Fernández, a member of Gijón Command’s ‘Arroba Team’ and guard Sergio Martínez Carretero.
Experts agree no prominent victim profile, but these attacks can happen to anyone. They perceived a significant increase as online purchases increased rapidly after the pandemic. “Especially due to covid, the increasing use of the internet means that many citizens who have never used the internet or mobile application have started to become computers. So, as the number of users increased, so did the number of crimes,” says Álvarez Fernández. In particular, a comparison of cases committed in the first four months of 2021 With data up to May this year, the number of complaints processed in Gijón Comandancia has increased by nearly 40 percent.
The most common computer scam is called ‘fishing’ – fishing in English – and consists of: sending mass text messages to mobile phones or emails that impersonate a company or company “and they take advantage of those who bite”. The intent of these large messages is for the user to believe that it is a request for their bank or supply company to disclose their bank information. “That’s when they gain access. Without great computer scientists, these criminals achieve a lot with little. That’s why it’s so important to always check. If you receive a message from your bank stating that you have requested something, there is no charge to call to confirm it”, agrees Francisco Álvarez and Sergio Martínez.
These episodes are expensive to investigate because the network allows criminals to be thousands of kilometers away from their victims. agents, highlight, In addition to having computer knowledge, it is important that they have knowledge about research.. “You have to have certain knowledge. We pull the strings and the evidence to get to the author. In addition to cooperation with Interpol or Europol, there are judicial and police means to reach other countries. Many crimes are clarified, but sometimes that trace disappears, but the same thing happens with what is known as traditional crime and sometimes you can’t solve,” the guards continue.
But crime does not always cross the border. It’s not even regional. In Asturias, for example, the activity of some fraud profiles via phone calls is common, pretending to be a representative of an electricity company, warning that there is an unpaid bill. The Civil Guard, like other bodies, arrested him countless times for committing such fraud. He recently called catering businesses to warn that they would cut their electricity if they didn’t pay.. “It’s the same, someone on the street tells you it’s from the bank, you check, it’s the same as calls,” they advise.