this “Team @” of the Alicante Civil Guard dismantled in Vega Baja and Murcia A criminal group specializing in cyber fraud using ‘phishing’ and ‘SIM swapping’ or cloning of SIM cards. The operation arrested three leaders, including an employee of a mobile phone shop in Orihuela and 13 people who pretended to be “mules” to get fraudulent money orders into their accounts in exchange for commission.
The Civil Guard confirmed that the gang managed to remove more. 126.000 € Arrested bank accounts of victims living in different provinces, one broke in detention, They were charged with varying degrees of participation, membership in a criminal organization, fraud, extortion of marital status, money laundering, possession of illegal weapons and drug trafficking.
“Team @” began investigations after complaints were detected by a well-known Spanish bank last March. cyber fraud to your customers. Thus began the so-called “Rulsimlute operation” and after examining the documents they confirmed that it is a special group that combines the two methods used by cybercriminals.
They used the ‘phishing’ method to obtain the personal data of their potential victims and sent mass posts for this. fake emails, To replace the identity of a well-known Spanish bank for this.
Combined the previous method with ‘SIM replacement’ or cloned sim card. During the implementation of this new method, one of the gang leaders who worked in a cell phone shop in Orihuela took action. The employee requested a duplicate SIM card linked to the phone number of the chosen victim, and then control of your digital banking and thus fraudulently transferred large sums of money from the victim’s bank account to the accounts of economic mules.
The crime syndicate was headed by a mobile phone shop worker, a 40-year-old Spanish man, and two Moroccan brothers, aged 35 and 33, who played the role of “managing the gang, capturing mulesters and controlling the finances”. “, according to the Civil Guard.
At a lower level, there was a network of “murdes” who provided bank account numbers to fraudulently receive financial transfers from victims’ accounts, although they could make withdrawals or purchases from the bank in the game rooms located in the Vega Baja area. and Murcia. They then handed over the defrauded amounts to the ringleaders in exchange for financial fees.
The arrest of 16 people involved in the incident has been carried out since 30 March. The worker was arrested first. phone shop The leader of the group, from Orihuela, searches his home in Elche. On the same day, 10 economic “mules” were arrested in different operations. A few days later, on May 5, the two brothers were arrested and their homes ransacked. Orihuela and Redovan.
The operation ended on 1 June with the arrest of three new economic “mules”. In total there are 13 “mules” aged between 26 and 48 years old and of Spanish, Uruguayan and Brazilian nationality.
Civil Guard recovered various mobile phone devices, SIM cards, 40 ecstasy pills. five pounds of marijuana buds2,059 euros in cash, an electroshock gun, two ready-to-use short firearms and sixteen rounds of cartridges. Some bank accounts belonging to group members were also blocked, thus Earn more than 90.000 Euros back total cheating.
Investigators were able to prove that the network has benefited more than 126,000 euros. Ciudad Real, Salamanca, Navarra, Zamora, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Huelva. Since the operation was not concluded, it was not ignored that the number of victims would increase when all the seized documents were examined.