The crimes already represent the second crime in volume of complaints in Catalonia, only behind thefts. 90% are through the Internet and, according to the , they have increased 20% year-on-year during the last two years. That is why the Catalan police have launched the #CiberNadalSegur prevention campaign, valid until after Three Kings Day. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence as a tool for crime has alarmed the Generalitat. Police sources affirm that these are scams that use this technology and impersonate the identity of an organization, institution, company or person known to the victim.
Email continues to lead as the threat most reported by victims. Telephone scams and WhatsApp fraud follow. In 2023, around 130,000 digital scams were reported in Catalonia, representing more than 300 victims daily. Of the total complaints, 60% corresponded to the techniques of smishing (by SMS), phishing (by mail) and wishes (via telephone).
The Mossos’ Christmas Plan is the focus due to the enormous flow of online purchases. Companies as well-known in Spain as Leroy Merlin or even large foreign corporations such as CostCo or the Canadian Rogers. The majority of complaints correspond to purchases made online through fraudulent websites. One of the most common variants is when the victim has accessed them through links on social networks and legal applications for the purchase and sale of all types of objects. Among the tips that the police have included in the campaign is to search for the products on more than one website or avoid making transactions outside the bank’s official platform.
The profile of the victim is very varied, since everyone is exposed. That doesn’t deter scammers from studying their victims. They focus on those most vulnerable. Tourists used to be their favorite targets, but now Police confirm that it is difficult to trace these cases because some older people have trouble remembering details about the attacks, or do not have enough knowledge to explain the technical nature of the attacks. Secondly, people who are unemployed or in financial need are especially vulnerable to fraudulent links offering lucrative investments.
The Mossos insist on being alert to the fraud, for which the scammer believes he is collecting when he is really paying. It is a scam that consists of receiving a request for money from a cybercriminal, passing it off as legitimate income. The victim, believing that it is a mere procedure, authorizes the payment without realizing that he is sending the money instead of receiving it. Many of those who suffer from this type of cyber scam feel ashamed for having been deceived and not only do they not report it, but they do not tell anyone what happened, so the crime goes unpunished.
