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ARCHIVED - Police dismantle holiday rental scam targeting tourists across Spain
29 people have been arrested for renting non-existent holiday apartments to unsuspecting tourists all over Spain
The Guardia Civil in Spain has arrested 29 people and is investigating another 13 for scamming unsuspecting tourists out of thousands of euros in an elaborate holiday home scam. Dubbed operation ‘Rent Scam’, the investigation was launched last September after officers noticed a huge increase in the number of complaints related to fake rentals.
So far, 30 men and 12 women have been collared during coordinated raids in the provinces of Madrid, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Pontevedra, A Coruña, Valencia, Alicante, Castellón, Ibiza, Bilbao, Santander, Huelva, Cádiz, Málaga, Granada, Murcia, Barcelona and Tarragona. Those detained are being investigated for crimes of computer fraud, belonging to a criminal organisation, identity theft and money laundering and it’s believed the group is responsible for at least 128 scams across Spain.
In a swindle that has now become all too familiar, the fraudsters reportedly took photos of random properties and advertised them for rent on well-know online forums at much cheaper prices than the going rate. They would then demand payment up front, before the would-be holidaymakers ever set foot in Spain.
According to the Guardia Civil, the exhaustive investigation uncovered a complex criminal organisation with several cells responsible for various steps of the scam. One group would locate attractive properties and photograph them, passing the pictures over to another group who would post them as available holiday rentals online.
A separate cell was responsible for using fake documents to set up bank accounts, emails and telephone lines used in the advertisements while a group of ‘mules’ was in charge of transferring money lodged by the victims to different accounts, making the funds very difficult to trace.
The mastermind behind this nationwide operation was a career criminal who is currently serving time behind bars for computer fraud crimes.
In addition to the arrests, officers have seized computers, electronic devices and documentation and have blocked more than 75 fraudulent bank accounts.
In other news: Travel free on Renfe trains throughout Spain until September
Image: Guardia Civil
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