The Civil Guard has clarified a scam of almost 40,000 euros suffered by a resident of Toledo who was lured with false investment promises and whose alleged perpetrator is a woman of French nationality residing in the regions of Girona. The suspect could not be located and remains at large.
The complaint was filed through the electronic headquarters of the Civil Guard. From that first step, the Cybercommand team took over the investigation, analyzed the communications held with the victim, and followed the trail of the transferred money until identifying the alleged perpetrator.
Recruitment on social networks and contact via WhatsApp
The injured party reported that he detected advertisements on several social networks for supposed investments with high profitability. After accessing one of the links, he was redirected to a WhatsApp group managed by a supposed expert professor in the field.
From that environment, the authors would have studied the victim's profile to begin recommending investments that, presumably, suited their interests. They also made available a fake assistant responsible for answering questions and accompanying them throughout the process.
The investigation points to that strategy having served to generate a progressive climate of trust. That contact ended with the invitation to enter a select group of investors, presented as an exclusive opportunity.
Nine transfers with the promise of a 15% profit
The management of the alleged investments was carried out through an application installed on the victim's mobile devices. Through that system, the affected person made nine bank transfers for an amount close to 40,000 euros.
Those deposits were made under the promise of obtaining approximately 15% profits in a short time. The operation fits with an investment fraud in which high profitability is offered to push the victim to continue contributing money.
Investigation opened in several European countries
The agents continue with the efforts to completely clarify the money trail and the possible international scope of the plot. At this point, several European investigation orders have been requested targeting Romania, Luxembourg, Italy, and Denmark.
In addition, a letter rogatory has been requested from Ireland to continue tracing the allegedly defrauded amounts. The investigation remains open while attempts are made to locate the suspect and complete the clarification of the facts.