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Police warn UK expats in Spain over Correos postal service scam
| Published: | 24 Dec at 6 PM |
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Expats living, working and retiring in Spain are now being warned about a financial scam using the Correos postal service.
The scam first came to light when expatriate and local victims began reporting unauthorised withdrawals from their bank accounts. A police investigation then revealed links between the withdrawals and an already active group of criminals using the same modus operandum involving Spain's most popular and widely used postal service. Expats with little command of the Spanish language are considered to be especially at risk.
The Correos postal delivery service requires a form containing the personal details of each customer including a mobile phone number, with the details being passed on through crooked employees to the fraudsters. Once the phone number is obtained, the scammers send the customer an SMS saying a parcel addressed to the person cannot be delivered. The message contains instructions for a redelivery using an electronic link requesting the victim’s bank details. Once the bank details are received, the scammers transfer cash from the account.
At present, multiple cases of fraud are being investigating by Spanish police, who believe many thousands of victims are still not aware they’ve been scammed, with more simply not coming forwards as they believe nothing can be done. As a result, Spanish police are alerting all users of the delivery service to contact their local postal service office should they receive a text message asking for further details. Those who’ve been unsuspecting victims of this crime are being urged to contact the authorities as soon as they realise they’ve been scammed.
The scam first came to light when expatriate and local victims began reporting unauthorised withdrawals from their bank accounts. A police investigation then revealed links between the withdrawals and an already active group of criminals using the same modus operandum involving Spain's most popular and widely used postal service. Expats with little command of the Spanish language are considered to be especially at risk.
The Correos postal delivery service requires a form containing the personal details of each customer including a mobile phone number, with the details being passed on through crooked employees to the fraudsters. Once the phone number is obtained, the scammers send the customer an SMS saying a parcel addressed to the person cannot be delivered. The message contains instructions for a redelivery using an electronic link requesting the victim’s bank details. Once the bank details are received, the scammers transfer cash from the account.
At present, multiple cases of fraud are being investigating by Spanish police, who believe many thousands of victims are still not aware they’ve been scammed, with more simply not coming forwards as they believe nothing can be done. As a result, Spanish police are alerting all users of the delivery service to contact their local postal service office should they receive a text message asking for further details. Those who’ve been unsuspecting victims of this crime are being urged to contact the authorities as soon as they realise they’ve been scammed.
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