Spain Halts a Crypto Scam That Drained Over $110 Million From Investors (Report)

Authorities in Spain are said to have dismantled a criminal gang responsible for a significant cryptocurrency fraud. Over 3,000 persons worldwide were victimized by the wrongdoers’ theft of more than €100 million ($110 million). 

In Mallorca, the Guardia Civil detained a suspect who was allegedly a member of a gang.

According to a local media outlet, the Guardia Civil, Spain’s oldest law enforcement organization, is looking into a criminal organization that allegedly defrauded thousands of people out of almost $110 million by convincing them to invest in fictitious cryptocurrencies. 

The so-called “Mandoa” operation was started by the police in response to a complaint from a resident of the Alava region who claimed to have fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam. 

The target of these fraudulent investments, according to the inquiry, which focused on the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands, was a company with its headquarters in Palma de Mallorca. The claimed company, on the other hand, made separate transfers to countries outside of the European Union. 

The Guardia Civil stated that members of the group used SMS, phone calls, and newspaper adverts to entice victims into their scam by promising them large profits with no risk. 

The wrongdoers gave their victims access to a website where they could check the profitability of their investments using phony graphs after formalizing a contract with clients and receiving money from them. Criminals even gave false brokers instructions to stay in touch with victims so they could persuade them to continue making investments in the scam. 

The gang refused the people’s desire to share in their gains, though. Instead, they gave them instructions to transfer more cash while using justifications such the completion of annual balance statements or tax payments.

Only one suspect has been apprehended by the police in Mallorca thus far for allegedly belonging to the criminal gang. Recently, countless people have been the victims of this hoax, which stole substantial sums of money from their purses. A Scottish woman named Jennifer was duped out of $190,000 by a bitcoin scam, as CryptoPotato reported last week.

After seeing a bogus advertisement on Facebook showing the British journalist and advise expert Martin Lewis, she made the decision to invest her whole life savings into a dubious enterprise. 

“I honestly find it hard to believe what has occurred to me; it is horrifying. I’ve worked hard to reach where I am, and the idea of losing this house is horrible, obviously for the sake of my kids,” the mother mourned.A Hong Kong resident who lost all of her money ($900,000) is another example. She was duped by a thief who got in touch with her on Instagram and pushed her to invest in virtual currencies with the promise of big rewards. 

She was asked to pay a particular fee when attempting to withdraw her money. Before understanding she had been taken advantage of, the mother made an attempt to borrow money from her daughter.