Alicante: Local police uncover false robbery claim tied to insurance earnings
A 49-year-old woman in Alicante was stopped by the National Police after she withdrew 300 euros from a bank and claimed she had been robbed. She stated she became a victim of a forced theft and admitted she had created the scenario to obtain compensation from her home insurance due to difficult financial times. The episode began when she withdrew money and then reported that a man with a sharp object pressed it against her back as she left the bank, demanding the bag she carried. She reported that the attacker stole her purse, and she suggested she could not identify the assailant because she could not clearly hear or see his face due to his voice and accent.
The alleged stolen items included the 300 euros just withdrawn, a mobile phone, and house keys. To bolster the claim, she said the incident initially felt like a joke but became serious after the assailant insisted on taking the bag. She later clarified that she believed she was being targeted, which prompted the emergency report and the demand for insurance relief.
Investigators from the Alicante Northern Regional Police Station were assigned to verify the robbery claim. They reviewed numerous steps and analyzed surveillance footage, ultimately confirming that the woman did not appear on any of the streets described in her complaint during the specified hours. The absence of corroborating sightings and footage raised serious questions about the veracity of the report.
With the evidence pointing toward a potential fraud, officers asked the woman to provide a fresh statement. She subsequently admitted that the reported events did not occur as described. She claimed that the money disappeared after the bank withdrawal and asserted that reporting the theft was a strategy to secure compensation from her insurer due to ongoing financial hardship.
Following her confession, she was arrested on suspicion of simulating a crime. After being taken into custody, she was released pending further court proceedings while the case was forwarded to the judiciary for formal handling.
The National Police emphasize that many arrests in the state involve simulation of crimes. In several instances, individuals report violent thefts to obtain insurance payouts for items such as mobile devices, even when no actual theft occurred. Simulating a crime can lead to police involvement, a criminal record, and lasting consequences that disrupt personal and professional life. The authorities remind the public that presenting a false report can carry serious penalties and affect future safety, trust, and access to services. This case serves as a reminder that claims of crime must be supported by credible evidence, and misrepresenting events to obtain compensation is a serious offense with real repercussions.