Wolf of Wall Street

The Guardia Civil has cleared up a massive international scam involving more than 50 victims in an operation that has led to the arrest of the four ringleaders in Malaga and Benalmadena.

The organisation had a call centre on the Costa del Sol with dozens of telephone operators who spoke various languages to recruit victims from different countries. The total fraud achieved by this organisation is estimated at around €31 million.

“Potential victims were recruited mainly through mass telephone calls to telephone numbers obtained from illegal databases, although their details were also accessed through internet banners,” explained the Gurdia Civil spokesperson.

With this data, they called the victims and harassed them through repetitive calls to get a small investment as a start-up. Once they had established a bond with the victim, they increased the level of pressure.

Wild parties

Once the first investments had been made, the telemarketers referred them to a fictitious website where the victims could see the money invested and the false profitability they were receiving, but when they wanted to recover the money, the telemarketers began to allege technical problems with the platform.

According to the Guardia Civil, part of the fraud obtained was used for all kinds of purchases, vehicles, trips and private parties with paid expenses for the employees, who received high commissions. Sources described these celebrations as being similar to those in the film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’.