The Mossos arrest five men in Barcelona
The Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested five men in Barcelona who were part of a group dedicated to supplanting identities to register vehicle insurance. These men used the personal data of the victims to take out insurance for their own vehicles, those of known people or for the purchase and sale of these cars. The arrests took place on April 17 and 18.
Investigation and arrests
The investigation began in July 2023 after a man reported that someone had used his data to register insurance on two vehicles without his consent. In addition, they had also taken out life insurance in his name valued at 40,000 euros. After the complaint, the Mossos discovered that six other people had been victims of similar incidents and identified the organization responsible (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de-textos-en-catala/).
Arrested and others involved
In addition to the five arrested men, there is another member of the organization, aged 22, who is pending arrest for the same events. Two other men, aged 24 and 59, have also been criminally charged as co-authors of the crimes. The detainees were brought before the court on April 20.
Modus operandi and research results
The members of this criminal group used the personal data of the victims to take out insurance for their own vehicles, those of known people or for the purchase and sale of these cars. In some cases, they also used victims’ bank details to settle fraudulent insurance policies. In addition, they changed the access keys of the legitimate insurances that the victims had in their names. In total, they secured thirteen vehicles using this tactic.
The Mossos d’Esquadra concluded that the perpetrators were part of a criminal group made up of eight men. These men used the personal data of the victims and some current account numbers to register their own vehicles, those of known people or for the purchase and sale of these cars. They used this strategy to obtain policies from the companies before the receipt was collected and returned once the account holder claimed. In this way, the members of the group could drive the vehicles with the insurance in force, even though they were not the rightful owners. They also bought vehicles to sell them later without changing the name (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de-textos-en-catala/).