The Civil Guard has dismantled in Córdoba a criminal group specialized in scams against online banking clients. The investigation began after the complaint of a resident of Montilla, who in July 2025 reported having been a victim of a scam after receiving a fraudulent SMS in the name of their banking entity.
Investigated for fraud and money laundering
The @ Team of the Córdoba Command, specialized in cybercrime, has investigated 12 people as alleged perpetrators of fraud and money laundering crimes. All those investigated are men of Spanish nationality. The operation remains open and new actions within the framework of this case are not ruled out.
Modus operandi impersonation and advanced techniques
The victim received an SMS with a link that directed to a website impersonating their bank's official one. After entering their credentials, they were contacted by phone by a person who posed as an employee of the entity. The alleged perpetrators used the ID calling spoofing technique, managing to make the bank's legitimate customer service number appear on the victim's mobile screen.
During the call, the alleged employees requested several verification codes, alleging the need to cancel suspicious operations. In this way, they authorized several operations in the victim's bank account and managed to steal about 20,000 euros.
Destination of the money and judicial proceedings
The money was transferred to different bank accounts, both national and international, made available in ATMs or invested in cryptocurrencies. The investigated parties and the proceedings carried out have been placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority. A crime of fraud and another of money laundering have been clarified.
Recommendations of the Guardia Civil
"Do not access online banking from URLs embedded in SMS messages or emails, and in case of receiving phone calls on behalf of the bank for any urgent matter, refrain from taking any action they instruct you to, hang up that call and go to your branch or communicate with the customer service phone number of the banking entity if it occurs outside opening hours" - Civil Guard