They trusted the polite, well-dressed salesman, then he allegedly used their identities in a €350,000 con

A sharp suit and confident manners were enough to talk his way into dozens of homes across Andalucía, but behind the polished exterior was a fraud that has cost more than 40 elderly and disabled residents a combined €350,000. Guardia Civil have now arrested the 41-year-old accused of running it.

How a smart appearance opened dozens of front doors 

Guardia Civil said the man, now in provisional prison, spent months posing as a sales representative for various companies. His educated manner and formal dress were enough to convince strangers he was legitimate, letting him walk into homes across six Andalucian provinces without raising suspicion.

Once inside, he asked for personal documents that seemed routine for any sales visit: banking details, pension certificates and a signature or two. Investigators said his targets were carefully chosen, mostly elderly people and those with disabilities, many of whom lived alone.

Signatures turned into secret loans and phone contracts 

Those documents and signatures then became the raw material for a second crime. Officers said he used the stolen paperwork to take out credit agreements, buy mobile phones and even finance vehicles, all in his victims’ names and without their knowledge.

In some cases, investigators believe he forged signatures rather than relying on ones he’d already gotten from the victims, exploiting how little oversight there is once he had the right documents in his hands.

A second visit that doubled the damage 

The fraud didn’t always end with the first visit either. Guardia Civil said the man sometimes returned to homes claiming a financing error had occurred, telling victims they needed to pay cash, make a transfer or use a portable card machine to cancel an operation that never even existed. For anyone who paid up, it meant a second financial hit, one that could prove devastating for people living solely on a pension.

The Armilla traffic stop that unravelled the network

The case only came together after officers carrying out a routine citizen security operation in Armilla, near Granada, stopped the man’s car in May. In the boot, they found contract papers, invoice books and documents bearing other people’s data, including a rental agreement drawn up in the name of a person who had already died.

That discovery let Guardia Civil link complaints that had previously looked isolated, building a single case, Operación Larberik, out of reports scattered across Jaén, Granada, Sevilla, Málaga and Córdoba, including several victims in Almería.

More than 40 victims, and investigators expect more to come forward

The man has been formally charged with continued fraud, usurping another person’s identity and falsifying public and private documents, according to Guardia Civil. A second suspect, an acquaintance accused of handling some of the stolen money or goods, is also facing charges.

Officers seized two high-end phones, two motorcycles, a car, more than €1,000 in cash and a portable card machine when he was detained. Guardia Civil said the investigation remains open and is urging anyone who was visited by an unsolicited sales representative and later noticed unexplained contracts or charges to come forward.

Cases like this are becoming a familiar pattern across Spain. EWN has previously reported on a fraudster posing as a Guardia Civil officer who fooled three women out of €135,000, whilst a bar owner in Granada was also accused of scamming a pensioner out of €22,000 in a separate case. Elsewhere in Europe, scams towards elderly residents are also becoming more common-place, as a recent report found a fake accountant who convinced a Greek pensioner to hand over €400,000 by claiming ‘a satellite was watching him’.