National Police officers have arrested four men in Alicante for allegedly acquiring high-end mobile phones by using forged payslips to secure financing. Through this method, the group successfully obtained a device valued at 1,500 euro from a shop in the city and attempted to pull off the same scam on multiple occasions in Elche, Murcia and Cartagena.
The police investigation began following a report filed by the legal representative of a retail business. Three men had visited the shop and obtained a high-end mobile phone worth nearly 1,500 euro after presenting various documents. However, the complainant became suspicious, believing that the payslip provided by one of the men to formalise the finance agreement appeared to be fake.
Following the report, officers launched an investigation and conducted several checks to identify the three individuals who had entered the establishment to acquire the high-end phone, according to a statement from the National Police. Investigators confirmed that the payslip was fraudulent and discovered that the individual named had never worked for the company listed on the document. Consequently, the man allegedly committed offences of fraud and falsification of documents.
During the course of the investigation, officers received a phone call from the complainant, who stated that the suspects had returned to the shop to carry out the same fraud. Investigators deployed quickly to the scene and caught four men in the act of financing a new high-end mobile terminal using forged documentation.
Officers discovered that one of the suspects carried a payslip in his own name which was actually the exact same document provided by another suspect, but with the owner’s name altered. Furthermore, the bank account numbers provided for the finance instalment payments did not exist and did not belong to any banking institution.
The other arrested individuals, despite not attempting to purchase a phone themselves, allegedly provided cover for the main suspects by performing lookout duties in the shops to watch out for any police presence.
During the processing of the case, officers established that the suspects had attempted to commit the same fraud in other cities. The first attempt took place in Elche, but it was not completed because the shop staff doubts about the authenticity of the documentation presented during the contract processing caused the perpetrators to flee the establishment.
On a second and third occasion, at a shop belonging to the same company in Murcia and again at the same shop in Elche, the perpetrators left after providing all the documentation required by the employees. They did not manage to acquire the mobile phones on these occasions because a financing study had to be carried out first. The suspects attempted the same tactic in Cartagena, where they also left the establishment after being informed that a finance study was required following the presentation of their documentation.
A fifth suspect remains under investigation but has not yet been located by officers. This man reportedly attempted to acquire a handset in Elche alongside one of the detainees by presenting a forged payslip in his own name. Enquiries are ongoing to determine whether the perpetrators have committed similar acts in other Spanish towns.
The four detainees, aged between 45 and 51, all have previous arrest records, including some for fraud. They have been placed at the disposal of the investigating duty court in Alicante.
