Málaga, (EFE) people.
The network was allegedly dedicated to committing scams, falsifying documents and laundering the money from these criminal offenses, as reported by the Police in a statement this Sunday.
The criminal network used false identities and dedicated itself to gaining the trust of the victims “using all kinds of tricks”, with which it even managed to make them fall in love with false profiles, such as an airplane pilot or a wealthy person whom they knew on the internet.
When they succeeded, they tricked the victims into sending an alleged gift that was held at customs or by an alleged shipping company, and to release it they needed large amounts of money.
They even made threats in case the payment was not made, which created “insurmountable fear” in the victims, who agreed to pay “disproportionate” economic amounts, according to the Police.
Thirteen records and 60 scams
The investigation began at the beginning of the year, following a complaint for a crime of fraud filed in Móstoles (Madrid), although the investigators determined that the perpetrators of the events were related to an account opened in a bank in Malaga.
From there, the agents of the East District Police Station of Malaga took charge of the investigations, in which they located a large number of victims, who were spread throughout the national territory.
The National Police has carried out 13 searches at homes and establishments of those investigated in which electronic devices, mobile phones, 36,000 euros and numerous documents, including false passports, have intervened.
The 18 members of the network have been arrested as alleged perpetrators of crimes against property and document falsification.
The operation, framed in the fight against cybercrime, has culminated in the dismantling of the criminal group as well as the clarification of 60 scams out of the 90 investigated. EFE