At the age of 45, he faced unemployment and had a family to support. The story follows a woman who, despite the odds, learned how to turn stolen identity papers into a new life on the wrong side of the law. She targeted CaixaBank customers, impersonating eight of them to drain their current accounts. A con artist with eight different faces.
Albert Hernandez of the District Investigation Unit explains how the case first drew attention after two similar complaints reached the courthouse. Mossos d’Esquadra received reports from bank customers who claimed they were victims of fraud. In both incidents, a mysterious woman appeared at CaixaBank offices, presented a recently stolen identity, and pretended to be the rightful account holder to withdraw large sums. The pattern prompted investigators to focus on this elusive figure who could slip through the cracks of ordinary security measures.
“We went to the bank, and its anti-fraud team was already on the woman’s case,” Hernandez notes. Additional complaints poured in from more customers, and after reviewing security footage, investigators identified a suspect. The woman changed her appearance for each operation, donning different hairstyles and outfits, yet the scam remained the same: present a stolen ID, mimic the person in the photo, and request a transfer or cash withdrawal. The team knew what the impostor looked like, but the person behind the deception remained uncaught for a time.
The bank’s staff encountered repeated misfires despite the changing looks. One teller would study the document, compare it with the photo, and quickly realize the face did not match. The impostor would then retreat, creating a wall of excuses while packing her bag and leaving the office. Still, eight successful incursions yielded a substantial haul: about 75,000 euros.
All crimes occurred between September and October. There was no match with any previously registered criminal profile. Could this have been a 45-year-old woman who struck the first blow, then carried out seven additional offenses in two months without a prior record?
That was the case. Recent days brought a breakthrough when Civil Guard officers in Madrid arrested a woman who had carried out similar schemes elsewhere. After the arrest, authorities photographed the suspect. With this image, Catalan police linked her to the bank recordings where she had posed as a client, cross-checking facial details and identity notes to confirm a match. The breakthrough revealed that the suspect lived in a municipality near Vallès Occidental.
“We began following her trail,” Hernandez states, adding that a few days later the suspect attempted to raid another bank branch in Manresa. Mossos d’Esquadra redirected a citizen security patrol to the location, interrupting the plan. The final attempt ended with the impostor’s arrest days later. Hernandez lists three distinct crimes in every instance: fraud, extortion, and documentary fraud. He believes that even if charges lead to release, the case will bring severe consequences for the perpetrator. Investigators prepared a report reconstructing the suspect’s full identity from the captured footage.
Authorities tracked down and questioned the individual, detailing the behavior: a stolen national ID was used, the impostor walked into a bank where no one knew her, handed over the ID, and posed as the account holder to determine the balance. The information helped reveal whether the stolen DNI belonged to a CaixaBank client and, if so, allowed the offender to hop from branch to branch to drain funds from different accounts.
The investigation is nearing completion. The remaining questions focus on the source of the stolen IDs and whether a broader network supplied the cards in exchange for a portion of the illicit gains. The pursuit of this larger operation continues as authorities trace the origins and potential connections to a larger market for stolen identities.