Constanza Sanchez
Agents of the La Rioja Police Headquarters have carried out an investigation that has led to the clarification of 33 scams committed as part of the ‘Operation Siruela’, which began in July 2024 following a complaint filed by a citizen of Valencia who reported an unauthorized charge on their credit card for the purchase of a high-end mobile device.
Further investigations analyzed information provided in a report from the Navarra Police Headquarters by the security manager of a commercial establishment in Pamplona. The report revealed a series of scams involving ‘carding’, where customers’ cards were used to purchase various high-end mobile devices in the same center, each valued at around 1,600 euros. None of the customers had authorized the use of their cards or lost control of them, only realizing the purchases when they received their monthly summaries.
The Investigative Group found that three fraudulent purchases had been made using cards from customers residing in Madrid, Valencia, and Jerez de la Frontera, with delivery immediately in Logroño.
Due to the urgency of the delivery, the group set up a security operation around the transport company’s headquarters in Logroño, leading to the arrest of the suspect when he arrived to collect the fraudulently acquired devices. After the arrest, the investigation analyzed the information to establish the modus operandi and the total number of victims.
MODUS OPERANDI
The suspect carried out scams by using the credit card information from a well-known hypermarket to purchase high-end mobile devices without the consent of the cardholders. All the mobile devices were iPhone 15 Pro Max, each valued at around 1,600 euros, with delivery addresses in Logroño provided for each purchase.
The suspect hurried to collect the shipments from the transport company’s headquarters, as the provided addresses did not match his place of residence. The police investigation revealed that the orders for these devices were placed from different IPs across Spain, including Navarra, Madrid, Aragón, and Cataluña, with some orders even originating from an IP in Seattle (USA), but always with delivery in Logroño.
‘CARDING’ METHOD
This method involves using credit card information to make unauthorized charges to the cardholder, obtained through various means. In this case, the suspect used the data to place orders at a hypermarket and have them delivered to different addresses. The requested items were high-end mobile devices, all priced over 1,000 euros, specifically an iPhone 15 Pro Max valued at around 1,600 euros.
The investigation by the Logroño Investigative Group determined that the suspect defrauded nearly 48,000 euros, affecting 33 individuals in different provinces across the country. Additionally, security measures on the purchasing platform prevented over 21,108 euros in fraudulent transactions, while the value of the products issued and delivered was 26,370 euros.
The investigation, which identified all victims to date, does not rule out the possibility of further arrests.
