The National Police of Cádiz has concluded an operation in Jerez de la Frontera with the arrest of two men. They are charged with fraud for impersonating bank employees to access the cards of about twenty victims. The economic damage exceeds 30,000 euros, obtained through ATM withdrawals and fraudulent purchases.
The investigation, initiated after information from a bank detected suspicious operations, has so far clarified 22 criminal acts across different parts of the country. The fraudulent transactions were carried out using a sophisticated method known as a "relay attack".
The alleged perpetrators contacted victims by phone, posing as employees of their bank. They warned of supposed fraudulent charges and instructed victims on actions that would supposedly block these operations, tricking them into installing a malicious application on their mobile phones and providing personal and banking information.
Subsequently, they asked the victims to bring their credit or debit card close to their mobile phone. Exploiting NFC technology, they accessed the card's chip information and created a digital copy. With this duplicate, the investigated individuals made cash withdrawals at ATMs and carried out fraudulent purchases, causing significant financial losses.
At the time of their arrest, officers seized a significant amount of cash, believed to be proceeds from their criminal activity. The detainees were transferred to the National Police station in Jerez and handed over to judicial authority. The investigation remains open, and more victims may be identified.
