Investigation into a massive bank scam in Mallorca

This is a very advanced fraud, which requires significant technical knowledge of cybercrime, and the Guardia Civil is working to locate the perpetrators, who could be on the mainland.

The scam starts when the user receives an SMS message on their mobile phone warning them: “The bank (they give the full name of the affected entity) has stopped a transaction of 2,000 euros to Amazon Poland. Our agents will call you”.

The caller firstly tries to keep the victim from hanging up, and reiterates that they have managed to temporarily block the cyber attack: “It is very important that we stay in touch until your account is fully secure”.

One of the most common scams involves getting the codes to withdraw money from the ATM, and another involves the individual providing his or her account code number and then in a matter of seconds, the thieves get hold of a certain amount of money (usually 2,000 euros).

The scam is massive and on Wednesday, for example, Palma police received three complaints from victims. In the past few months there have been dozens of people swindled and the monthly amount usually exceeds 30,000 euros.

The Guardia Civil is trying to find out the method by which the gang locates the victim’s bank and everything indicates that it could be the “sale of computer packages” from certain websites with few scruples or which have been hacked. What is more if the victim redials the scam number, he or she is connected to his or her real bank.