Agents of the National Police have dismantled a criminal organization in Madrid dedicated to committing fraud using the 'face morphing' technique. This advanced method involves merging facial images of two different people, significantly hindering identification and facial recognition.

The network carried out fraud in property and vehicle rentals, usurping victims' data and photographs. These images were manipulated with features of the fraudsters to create fake documents. In the last year, the organization obtained financial benefits close to 60,000 euros, in addition to income from selling forgeries to third parties.

The investigation began in January after several housing rental scams were detected with a similar modus operandi: the use of manipulated documents with another person's identity to formalize leases. The fraudsters would only pay the first month and then sublet the properties as if they were the legitimate owners, collecting full monthly payments. This practice also extended to leasing vehicles, where they would only pay the first installment, leading to complaints of misappropriation.

The organization's structure was coordinated on three levels. The leader was responsible for falsifications, showing properties, and opening bank accounts. Their partner offered properties and vehicles online. Finally, two individuals sought out the rented vehicles or those listed in the contracts. In addition to rental income, which ranged from 1,500 to 1,800 euros per month, the network also produced fraudulent documents for third parties, charging 800 euros for each forgery.

In early March, a search was conducted at the leaders' home, where numerous fake documents were seized, as well as real lost documents, credit cards associated with fake identities, computers, and memory devices containing documentary samples. Four men and one woman have been arrested as alleged perpetrators of crimes including criminal organization, document forgery, fraud, identity theft, and misappropriation.