The Civil Guard and the National Police have dismantled a criminal organization that operated at a national level specialized in scams through the method of SIM swapping.
During the joint operation called ‘House-Silex-Tetendit’ they have been 16 people arrested in the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona, another four people in Switzerland thanks to the collaboration of the country’s authorities.
The operation, which began in December 2021, focused on the investigation of several people linked to the “Trinitarios” youth organizationmainly in the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona.
The first investigations revealed that the detainees obtained large sums of money through computer scams, which they subsequently transferred to members of the organization based in Switzerland. Thanks to the coordination between the Civil Guard and the National Police, up to 30 victims were identified, whose personal and banking information was obtained through malware installed on your computer equipment.
The ‘modus operandi’
The detainees carried out unauthorized portability of telephone lines, thus obtaining new SIM cards that they controlled. In this way, they intercepted the victims’ banking communications and accessed their funds through the bank verification codes sent by SMS.
In addition, they opened new bank accounts using the identity of the victims, relying on false documentation and intermediaries, to then transfer the defrauded amounts and hide them in accounts under the control of the organization.
The operation has allowed us to discover fraudulent transfers for a total of 429,000 euros and the identity theft of at least 100 people. Movements of more than $70,000 were also detected towards accounts controlled by the leaders of the network in Switzerland, as well as cash withdrawals and cryptocurrency purchases. In addition, transfers worth 95,000 euros were blocked before they were sent to Switzerland.
The operation has allowed for the traceability of various bank accounts and crypto assets in which more than one million euros have been moved to Swiss accounts.
During the investigations, eight telephone lines, voice masking devices and other electronic equipment used to commit the crimes were tapped.
Weapons seized
On March 19, a total of 14 entries and searches were carried out in various locations in the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona, concluding with the arrest of 16 people for the crimes of fraud, money laundering, document falsification, identity theft, revelation of secrets and membership in a criminal organization.
As a result of the searches carried out, the following effects related to the illegal activities investigated were seized:
-
1 submachine gun
-
1 disabled rifle
-
3 shotguns
-
3 blasting guns
-
47 mobile phones
-
Computer storage devices
-
Numerous counterfeit identity cards
-
Blank bank card holders
-
200 RFID cards (NFC cards to store information)
-
1 magnetic stripe copier
-
Multiple SIM cards and card holder
-
luxury items
Last August, four other entries and searches were carried out in properties located in Switzerland, after which four more people were arrested, after a joint team of the Civil Guard and National Police traveled to this country.
The investigations are being directed by the Court of Instruction number 4 of Burgos and the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 4 of Plasencia (Cáceres).
What is SIM Swapping?
SIM Swapping is a fraud technique in which criminals manage to duplicate the victim’s SIM card to control their telephone line. This allows them to intercept messages and calls, especially the two-factor verification codes that banks send to their customers to confirm transactions. With access to these codes, scammers can impersonate the victim and carry out fraudulent transactions, emptying their bank accounts.
#criminal #organization #dismantled #swindling #euros #SIM #swapping #method #bank #verification #codes #intercepted
