Dismantled an international criminal organization specialized in the commission of scams by the SIM swapping method
There are twelve detainees in Benidorm (5), Granada (6) and Valladolid (1), as alleged perpetrators of more than 100 scams in which they would have obtained more than 3,000,000 euros of illicit profit.
Those investigated had created five merchant companies that they used to launder money from scams
Two registrations have been made in which more than 20,000 euros in cash and a significant amount of high-end jewelry and watches have been intervened, in addition to computers and computer equipment
Civil Guard officers, in collaboration with National Police officers, have dismantled an international criminal organization specialized in the commission of scams using the SIM swapping method. There are twelve detainees in Benidorm (5), Granada (6) and Valladolid (1), as alleged perpetrators of more than 100 scams in which they would have obtained more than 3,000,000 euros of illicit profit. Those arrested are charged with the crimes of continued and aggravated fraud, identity theft, money laundering, documentary falsification, revelation of secrets and membership in a criminal organization. Those investigated had created five merchant companies that they used to launder money from scams. Two registries have been carried out in which more than 20,000 euros in cash and a significant amount of high-end jewelry and watches have been intervened, in addition to computers and computer equipment.
The investigation, which started about a year ago, has had the collaboration of analysts from Europol and the Italian National Police.
Modus Operandi: SIM swapping or SIM card cloning
The method used for the scam consists of several phases; in a first phase, the investigated ones seized the access codes to the online banking portals of the different entities using techniques of “phishing”, “malware” or “pharming”. Once the keys were obtained, the authors requested a duplicate of the SIM cards of the different victims, providing the mobile phone companies with false documentation – in some cases, including public figures – with the intention of receiving confirmation codes for fraudulent transfers that subsequently performed.
Once these codes were obtained, they made fraudulent transfers from the victims' accounts to third-party accounts, which served to channel the money. On other occasions, they also requested pre-granted loans or microcredits from banks, in order to obtain greater economic benefits.
All this was done in a short period of time, between one and two hours; maximum time in which the victim realized that his phone had stopped working – since his SIM card was inactive – because he was already operating with the new duplicate card.
In this way, each victim was subtracted from their bank accounts amounts ranging from 6,000 to 137,000 euros, in one case.
The criminal organization had, among its members, nationals from Italy, Romania, Colombia and Spain. Although the leaders of the same were of Neapolitan origin and had settled, since the beginning of last year, in the town of Benidorm, maintaining very close contact with a mafia group from their hometown.
Laundering of illicit profits obtained
In order to launder the illicit profits obtained from the scams, the members of the organization had created a total of five merchants with several bank accounts each. All of them had the same corporate purpose and domicile, but without any type of commercial activity.
These accounts were nourished by the cash income made by the members of the group and, presumably, from the scams committed. Later, with that money they paid the payrolls to the employees of the aforementioned companies – eight in total – who would have come to Spain from Italy, where they were registered as workers in Social Security. In this way, they opened several bank accounts and then returned back to Italy, where the swindled money route allegedly ended. It was the organization's own leaders who were in charge of depositing the cash and then operating directly with the employees' accounts, withdrawing the money in person, or transferring it directly to Italian bank accounts.
Once all the members of the group were identified, and after being detected in the city of Barcelona, a police device was established that ended in the town of Benidorm with the arrest of the leaders of the criminal organization, intercepted at the exit of the toll booth. After the arrest of the leaders, the rest of the arrests occurred in the towns of Granada and Valladolid.
Intervened 20,000 euros and more than 100 bank cards
Subsequently, the agents carried out two searches in Benidorm, in which more than 20,000 euros in cash, 2 high-end vehicles and a significant amount of jewelry and watches of great value intervened. In addition, they located several computers and numerous computer equipment, including more than 100 bank cards, 16 mobile terminals, numerous duplicate SIM cards and material to falsify personal documentation. In addition, investigators have blocked the personal bank accounts of those investigated and those of the merchants involved.
The detainees, whose ages are between 22 and 53 years, have been brought to justice, five of them entering provisional prison. Although the investigation is still open and the agents do not rule out the appearance of more victims.
