Overview

• Operation Kinderen, launched in 2022 after a Majadahonda report, has identified 342 suspects, including 215 arrests and 127 under investigation.
• Investigators say the groups posed as relatives via WhatsApp or SMS to fabricate emergencies and press for urgent transfers while avoiding voice calls.
• Proceeds were funneled into controlled bank accounts, then withdrawn at ATMs in Madrid and Barcelona or redistributed to hinder tracing.
• The five latest detainees are accused of bank fraud, money laundering, identity usurpation and membership in a criminal organization.
• Authorities link the network to similar scams in multiple provinces and urge users to verify identities, distrust unknown numbers and enable two-step verification with strong passwords.