- Facts investigated from the complaint of three citizens after seeing an ad in Tik Tok of online sale of garments
- Victims captured through social networks: Instagram, Tik Tok, Whasapp,…
- Reports of similar events in 6 cities: Irun, Jerez de la Frontera, Sagunto, Santander, Palencia and Getafe
- Detained a man in Alcoy (Alicante) who received payment bizums for several victims
In October of this year, three members of the Local Judicial Police Brigade of Irun appear to report that they have been victims of a scam when they intended to buy clothes, for later resale, through an online sales page, from a person posing as a wholesale businessman who was advertised in Tik Tok.
After watching a video on the aforementioned social network, the complainants decided to make a purchase from that user, accessing through a link, the sales website.
Once the payment was made through the Bizum platform, the transaction showed the appearance of reality, although the repeated contacts with the seller through Instagram did not help the merchandise finally reach the complainants.
The seller had a store, open to the public, in the town of Alcoy (Alicante), which helped him to give more verisimilitude to his profiles on social networks.
With similar actions, he carried out at least five other scams in different provinces, taking advantage of the great visibility in the digital environment that these well-known platforms gave him. The plurality and large number of victims led to the creation of a WhatsApp group of victims at the national level.
The investigation carried out by the Judicial Police Brigade of Irun is able to identify the person behind these profiles, as the recipient of the income from the sale of textiles to the peso, registering his domicile in Alcoy.
Finally, this person is arrested by members of the National Police of Alcoy and brought before the courts as the alleged perpetrator of a continuing crime of fraud.
The National Police reminds citizens of the importance of verifying the authenticity of online sellers and denouncing any suspicious activity. Likewise, it reaffirms the commitment of the police force in the fight against fraud and fraud in all its forms, always making available to citizens the necessary resources to guarantee their safety and confidence.