Barcelona embroiled in a bizarre 600,000 euro Bitcoin scam exposé
In the heart of Barcelona's bustling Eixample district, a chaotic scene unfolded at a local hotel. A 40-year-old woman, with a criminal history spanning across Europe, was arrested for attempting to scam a foreign couple out of 600,000 euros in cryptocurrencies.
The woman, who had two national arrest warrants and an European Arrest Warrant (EAW) from Germany, where she had also committed cryptocurrency-related frauds, was using a sophisticated method known as the "Reverse Bizum" scam. This scam involves sending money requests disguised as payments, tricking the victim into approving the operation, believing they are receiving funds when they are actually sending them.
In this case, the woman had adapted the scam to blockchain technology, using a hardware wallet, a device similar to a USB drive, to execute her plan. She pretended to make a transfer to the victims, but was actually trying to seize their digital assets.
The couple, realising the scam, started a heated argument that ended in a noticeable fight, alerting the hotel staff. The staff, concerned about the commotion, notified the Mossos d'Esquadra, who managed to arrest the woman just as she was trying to flee the scene.
Despite extensive searches, there is no publicly available detailed information about a female prisoner in Barcelona with a long criminal history across Europe, including involvement in Bitcoin-related fraud in Germany. The case serves as a reminder of the evolving nature of online scams and the importance of staying vigilant when dealing with digital assets.
