15,000 Spanish Taxpayers Details Sold Following Cyber Attacks

A man has been arrested in Sevilla suspected of buying personal information and bank details of more than 15,000 Spanish taxpayers, as well as keeping a stash of illegal firearms.

Details of the case named Operation Pousada, were revealed on Monday, July 17, by the Policia Nacional, following the suspect’s arrest in Sevilla.

Police Arrest Cyber-Criminals

National Police officers detained a person on Tuesday, July 11 in Dos Hermanas (Seville) for his alleged participation in a crime of disclosure of secrets and fraud, both of a continuous nature, possession of weapons and storage of weapons of war and ammunition.

The investigation began in November 2022 when investigators became aware of several cyber-attacks on the computer systems of various public institutions such as the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and the State Tax Administration Agency, among others.

Specialist cyber-crime Officers from the General Information Police identified one of the persons responsible for the attacks. A young man with a long career in the world of cybercrime, was arrested on March 31 in Madrid.

This first suspect had developed a platform called ‘Ojo de Horus’ (Eye of Horus), where he illegally gathered the personal data of citizens which was then offered for sale to third parties.

Two months later, and after an intense investigation, a second individual was located, who together with the first suspect, had been responsible for illegally obtaining the different user credentials to carry out the cyber-attacks.

Officers discovered that the man illicitly acquired more than 15,000 thousand records with personal and banking information of Spanish taxpayers. By using different digital identities in instant messaging applications, the suspect managed a wide network of contacts for financial gain.

One method he employed was to send an SMS to a user, in which he pretended to be a legitimate entity i.e. social network, bank, or public institution, with the aim of stealing private information or making a financial charge.

When officers mounted a raid man on the man’s home, he had a tab open and active in the browser of his laptop for a mass SMS-sending platform. He was also in possession of 24 mobile phones and 114 SIM cards ready to use.

Substantial Cache Of Firearms Discovered

Officers found the suspect not only had a wide network of criminal contacts in the virtual world but also had firearms in his home, which further demonstrates his high level of danger and links to common crime.

The firearms included a submachine gun, a short firearm and a shotgun were found, all of them with their respective cartridges and ready to be used. It is noteworthy that the automatic weapon, a Scorpion submachine gun, has a high firepower and is considered a weapon of war according to the current Weapons Regulations.

Indications of his lucrative illegal activities were also evidenced in that the person enjoyed a high standard of living with a large number of luxury items such as jewellery, gold pendants and watches, as well as high-end vehicles.

It was also discovered that during 2022 he disposed of crypto-assets for an amount of more than one million two hundred thousand euros through eight different bitcoin wallets.

On Thursday, July 13, the detainee was placed at the disposal of the head of the Central Court of Instruction number four of the Audiencia Nacional, which ordered his imprisonment.

The operation was conducted with the collaboration of the Provincial Information Brigade of Seville, the National Police Station of Dos Hermanas and the National Cryptologic Centre, and the National Intelligence Centre.