James Warren
A VALENCIAN woman has been arrested after ‘phishing’ in the emails of a Granada businessman and stealing €20,000 from his bank account.
The Guardia Civil of Pinos Puente were informed after the man realised that he had been scammed by the 29-year-old.
The woman allegedly contacted the man and befriended him before
discovering that he owed a large sum of money to a company and planned
to pay back the debt in the coming weeks.
She found out the name of the company and got back in touch, pretending
to be emailing to claim back the debt, giving false bank details to which the man transferred the sum of €20,000.
The businessman later discovered he was scammed a few days later when
the actual company contacted him to reclaim the debt.
The woman’s IP address was sourced and she was found to be situated in
Valencia and had no previous convictions.
Phishing has become a popular scam in recent years with the rise in new
technologies.
It involves obtaining confidential information from victims to enable
criminals to benefit, usually financially, by stealing items or documentation.
Popular information includes stealing bank account details, passwords,
card details or influencing money transfers.
