Man, 31, arrested in Parla for bank fraud of €1,550 against Badajoz resident
National Police arrested a man in Parla linked to 19 smishing complaints with total losses exceeding €42,000.
Arrested in Parla for impersonating a bank and stealing €1,550 from a Badajoz resident
The National Police has arrested a 31-year-old man in Parla (Madrid) with a criminal record as the alleged perpetrator of a fraud committed against a resident of Badajoz. The detainee allegedly impersonated the victim's bank through SMS messages to obtain transfers worth €1,550.
The victim received an SMS that appeared to come from his bank, alerting him to a supposed fraudulent transaction. Subsequently, through telephone calls, those responsible convinced him to make the transfers. The complaint was taken up by Group II of the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade in Badajoz.
The investigators focused their enquiries on the telephone numbers provided by the victim. One of these numbers appeared to be linked to 18 other complaints filed in different parts of the country for facts of similar characteristics, with total economic losses exceeding €42,000.
Officers identified the holder of the bank account that received the transfers made by the victim. It was a 31-year-old man resident in Parla with a police record. All information gathered was sent to the Superior Police Headquarters in Madrid.
From there, officers assigned to the Local Judicial Police Brigade of the Parla Police Station located and arrested the suspect as the alleged perpetrator of fraud.
The National Police stress that in this type of fraud—known as smishing—it is common for perpetrators to use false identities to contract or register telephone lines, a practice that makes identification of those responsible more difficult and is becoming increasingly frequent in this type of crime.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)