Spanish police investigating an online gang, which swindled prospective puppy-buyers out of more than €150,000 (£125,000) by duping them into paying for nonexistent dogs and fictitious vets’ bills, have arrested six people and frozen 14 bank accounts.
Officers from the Policía Nacional began looking into the gang – which was based in the Basque province of Biscay but operated across Spain – and discovered it was fraudulently advertising mobile phones as well as pets.
“The modus operandi was based on placing adverts on secondhand shopping platforms,” the force said in a statement. “In most cases, they offered puppies – but also cats and even parrots – at affordable prices.
“When the victim called up about the advert, they were sent pictures of their future pet to encourage them to pay for it as soon as possible. Once that was done, the buyer was asked for more money on various pretexts, such as to cover vets’ bills, taxes, vaccinations and transport costs. But the victims never received the animals.”
Police then noticed that the gang was using the same shopping sites to offer the latest mobile phones, which, once again, never reached their buyers.
After analysing 72 bank accounts and poring over information gleaned from 25 phone lines, officers identified 100 victims of the fraud across Spain, and learned that they had been cheated out of more than €150,000.
Their investigations led to the arrests of six gang members, who are accused of fraud, belonging to a criminal organisation and escaping from prison.
“Following a search of the home of one of the main suspects, officers have also seized five mobile phones as well as the sim cards used to commit the frauds,” the police statement added. “Fourteen bank accounts used by the suspects in an effort to make the money harder to trace have also been blocked.”
