MADRID – InSpain.news regularly posts articles on our website or on our official Facebook page regarding the various scams alerted to us by the police in Spain.
Often we see or hear about scams going around and think they are so obvious that we would not be caught out. However, these scammers play on our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and each person will have a different reaction. They also work on the law of percentages. The more spam they put out, the more chance they have of some paying off. This is especially true of the ones where a low amount of money is requested. People might not think twice about questioning it.
One of our editors
Not so long ago, one of our editors was almost caught out. The trigger here was a friend was supposedly in trouble, and needed money to be urgently transferred. However, as the messaging went on, our editor noticed there were different language patterns in the text than what her friend would normally use. Unfortunately, a relative of the friend was not so lucky. It all seemed very plausible at the time.
Current scam
Policia Nacional has Tweeted about a new scam. This time, the fraudsters contact women via WhatsApp. They pretend to be their children who advise their mobile has broken and they have a new number. They continue the sob story of how they have now lost all their photos and contacts. Then they advise they need to pay for something but they do not have their bank card with them. They ask for money to be transferred, but say that they will return it when they have their card. They then provide an IBAN number and ask for an amount to be transferred immediately.
Te piden que hagas una transferencia desde tu cuenta 💸 (o que abras una nueva) a cambio de una comisión 💰 #NoSeasMula
Estarás ayudando a delincuentes a mover su dinero ¡es #delito! pic.twitter.com/KvcZeiVP3s
— Policía Nacional (@policia) April 5, 2022
Please always check out if the situation is real. Too often we used text messages instead of actually speaking.
Another type of scam
This type of scam is where you may be asked to transfer money from your account, or even to open a new account. In return for this, you are offered a commission on top of the transfer amount. Often this will sound attractive as there is virtually no work involved, and money is guaranteed.
Do not offer to help. All you will be doing is helping criminals move and launder their money. You may also be caught up in any problems further down the line if the criminals are apprehended.
As we have said before, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
