Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
SPAIN’S ‘Most Wanted’ criminal couple have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Torrevieja.
A local court jailed the husband-and-wife team, both aged 36 and44.
In total, they had accumulated more than 62 arrest warrants and court-ordered imprisonments in Spain.
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The pair, of an undisclosed nationality, advertised non-existent rental properties to people in order for them to access their bank accounts.
The Guardia Civil did not reveal the amount of money that they had pocketed.
According to the authorities, the couple has been operating this scam for more than a decade.
The 49 fraud counts and four charges of identity theft were brought against them.
The Guardia Civil noted a rise in reports of rental scams in April, and that the couple had always taken large cash withdrawals at Torrevieja ATMs where they lived since 2022.
Scammers replied to people’s ads looking for an apartment and offered them fake properties below market prices.
They gained their victims’ trust and then asked them for their personal information. Then they sent a fake contract.
The photos they sent were of people who had their identities stolen, including alleged owners.
The couple used the The use of stolen identities is a way to find new victims, and register pre-paid mobile phones.
The Guardia discovered that up to six numbers were activated in the name the same person over a period of several days for the purpose of using them in fresh scams.
The victims were instructed to deposit and pay the first installment using the cardless cash withdrawal codes generated from their online banking accounts.
Using these codes, the couple was able to withdraw money instantly from ATMs.
Several of the victims were summoned to court and police for crimes committed under stolen identities.
The Guardia Civil claimed that they lived as hermits in Torrevieja to avoid being seen.
The blinds on their home windows are always drawn and they rarely go outside other than to use the ATM.
The search revealed 25 phone cards, 5 mobile phones, 2 electronic tablets and drugs.
53 victims have been identified so far in A Coruña, Alicante, Almeria, Asturias, Avila, Badajoz, Caceres, Cadiz, Cantabria, Castellon, Ciudad Real, Cordoba, Cuenca, Granada, Guadalajara, Guipuzcoa, Huelva, Jaen, La Rioja, Las Palmas, Leon, Lleida, Lugo, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Navarra, Sevilla, Tenerife, Toledo and Valencia.
Guardia Civil advises that it is vital to verify the identity of any potential landlord.
Renters should be cautious of low prices that seem suspicious and avoid paying any money without checking the contract and property.
The Olive Press has more Costa Blanca News. Click here to read it.
