The criminals took at least 600,000 euros taken from the victims’ accounts. At least 106 clients of a Spanish bank were the victims of robbery.
In Spain, Authorities opened an investigation into an alleged network of cybercriminals with an international presence. The criminals managed to deceive bank customers and then proceeded to invest the stolen funds in bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. According to the authorities, the criminal laundered the funds and went unnoticed. So far, 90 people got identified and eight arrested.
The local press highlights that they used these digital assets to “launder black money,” avoiding tracing by investigators. According to the Civil Guard, the main feature of cryptocurrencies is that the source and destination data are encrypted, making it very hard to track them.
The authorities expressed that when criminals purchased the cryptocurrencies, they transferred them to the digital wallets of the members of the group to remain anonymous.
They specified that digital media made it easier for scammers to operate from anywhere in the world, “which has meant additional work in the police investigation.”
The Authorities Already Have Data on Robberies
The police already have facts and figures. There are at least 600,000 euros compromised and stolen from clients of a bank, all of them extracted via cryptocurrencies.
According to the Efe agency, which cites sources from the Civil Guard, the criminals deceived customers through smishing, which uses SMS for the victim to provide the necessary data to enter the account.
Those investigated made transfers for up to 5,000 euros to other people, classified as mules, which are the ones who, finally, transfer the stolen money received in exchange for keeping a commission.
At least 106 clients of a Spanish bank who remained unidentified were reportedly the victims of robbery. The Spanish police entity highlighted that they have been able to identify a criminal network that links together at least 90 people, with nationalities from Kazakhstan, Russia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ukraine, and even Cameroon.
According to the information revealed by the agency, there are eight prisoners in Spain, between 40 and 59 years old, from Romania, Ukraine, and that country. The criminals are spread in Seville, Murcia, Malaga, La Coruña, Girona, Zaragoza, Elche and Valencia. In addition, 25 bank accounts with non-identified entities got blocked and disposed of before the Spanish justice.
But Can Those Funds be Laundered with Bitcoin?
Yes, but it is not that easy. Bitcoin indeed defends privacy and transparency. Its blockchain shows everything and permanently. So with the proper tools, it is possible to set tracking on a transaction. Blockchain networks are accounting books where all the data can get consulted. This situation facilitates the tracking of a monetary operation within it.
Blockchain.com or mempool.space offers a feature for a person or authority to monitor the blockchain and follow up on the transaction.
In the same way, some companies emerged and dedicated themselves to monitoring operations. There is the curious case of the walletexplorer.com block explorer, owned by the blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis. This tool allows the user to identify the IPs of possible cybercriminals.
By: Jenson Nuñez
