Malaga National Police and Local Police officers detained two women, aged 24 and 45, who are suspected of theft and fraud tied to exploiting elderly victims. The suspects allegedly targeted seniors by seizing their portfolios and withdrawing retirement funds from nearby ATMs.
The operation culminated in the early hours near a local branch in the Humilladero Cross area on May 30. One of the women was observed attempting another theft, and authorities recovered 600 euros that had been withdrawn from a bank account. Local police acted swiftly to ensure the pair’s immediate arrest.
The National Police and the Provincial Police Station reported that these individuals are part of a mobile criminal network. They reportedly shadowed elderly customers inside banking institutions, performing acts that masked the crime and planned further thefts to occur during retirement withdrawal times.
Following the thefts, the culprits moved to the nearest ATM and extracted cash from the victims’ accounts. Investigators traced a pattern across twelve incidents dating back to the previous year, in which the suspects benefited more than 11,130 euros. The case has been referred to Investigation Court No. 7 in Malaga for formal processing.
The investigation began after a complaint filed by an orphanage. An elder waited inside a bank branch to update a passbook and withdraw funds, then noticed multiple withdrawals by unknown individuals in the days that followed. Additional complaints of a similar nature emerged over the course of a week, with victims reporting the same modus operandi and location types.
During the inquiry, authorities gathered data linking two women to the alleged offenses. The suspects reportedly operated in affluent neighborhoods and frequently targeted senior citizens on days they expected retirement funds to be released. In many cases, the criminals positioned themselves near banking institutions to observe security procedures and identify opportunities to exploit the victims. One investigator observed how the suspects approached potential targets and attempted to identify the security code of the bank cards just before the act.
Subsequently, the two women allegedly followed the victim until they found a moment when a theft could be carried out with minimal risk. They then moved to a nearby ATM to withdraw money using the stolen debit card, taking advantage of a PIN that had been observed or memorized in advance. The combined effort of field agents and investigators finally brought the case to a prosecutorial stage for formal judicial review.