As part of Operation Magna-Vallis, the Guardia Civil has arrested 18 people in Bizkaia, northern Spain, and one in Burgos, and is investigating three others, for belonging to a criminal organisation dedicated to fraud through false advertisements for the sale and adoption of pets on the internet. Three members of the organisation, who belonged to a family clan, kept an octogenarian under their control, isolating him from his family and forcing him to beg. They also opened numerous bank accounts in his name to carry out the scams.
The Guardia Civil has identified up to 121 victims of fraud and ten of identity theft, spread across numerous provinces: Tenerife, Las Palmas, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Cadiz, Alicante, Almeria, Balearics, Gipuzkoa, Lleida, Tarragona, Zaragoza, Albacete, Murcia, Leon, Badajoz, Avila, Lugo, Granada, Ourense, Cordoba, Caceres, Castellon, La Rioja, Alava, Burgos, Jaen, Girona, Toledo and A Coruña.
The fraudsters demanded progressive payments from their victims under various pretexts, such as vaccinations, transport, chips, cages, etc., through Bizum payments or bank transfers. They also used the ‘Smurfing’ method, which consists of splitting payments and laundering money through micro-payments.
Guard Civil officers detected 57 bank accounts and 23 telephone lines linked to the organisation, which were subsequently blocked by court order. The amount associated with the scams is estimated to be more than €36,000. It has also been confirmed that the alleged perpetrators used part of the money obtained from the scams, together with a fraction of the social benefits received, as most of those involved did not justify regular economic activity and received income from the Guaranteed Income Scheme (RGI), Minimum Living Income (IMV) and other regional aid, to investments in cryptocurrencies, whose market value would amount to more than €55,000.
It is estimated that the social benefits received improperly could amount to more than €560,000. Those arrested are charged with the alleged crimes of continued fraud, money laundering, usurpation of civil status, membership of a criminal group, human trafficking and abuse without injury. In Spain, the Guardia Civil has stressed that buying pets online is legal, provided that animal welfare standards are met and that transactions are carried out through authorised breeders or centres.
It is always advisable to be wary of prices that are too low or urgent requests to ‘deliver the animal’, always demand documentation from the breeder and centre, request copies of the veterinary record and microchip, and do not pay in advance or send money via bank transfer or other online payment methods.