National Police agents in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have arrested a 26-year-old man with a criminal record as the alleged perpetrator of a continuous fraud crime, after defrauding 28 people in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura with fraudulent rentals. In addition, two other people related to the events have been investigated.
The detainee advertised, through a well-known web portal, the rental of very well located properties at more than affordable prices. He demanded immediate payments as a reservation or first month's payment, using apps like Bizum in some cases, and bank transfers to figureheads in others, who were nothing more than disadvantaged people who agreed to provide the detainee with their personal data in exchange for a small consideration.
The investigation began in June of last year, following the first complaints received in reference to several rentals advertised on a well-known web portal.
Several properties located in the towns of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario were located on the aforementioned website, all of them very attractive, as they were well located, offered at more than affordable prices and showed attractive images. The investigators were able to verify the relationship between them and the main suspect, a 26-year-old man with a police record for similar events.
The data provided by the victims of the false rentals made it possible to verify that the payments were made through apps such as Bizum, in some cases, and through bank transfers in favor of figureheads in others, obtaining a fraudulent profit of approximately 15,000 euros.
The police operation culminated with the arrest of the 26-year-old man, the final beneficiary of the defrauded money, as well as two other people related to the events as suspects.