The Spanish National Police, in collaboration with the Bavarian State Police, has dismantled a criminal organization operating from a call center in Madrid, specializing in telephone scams targeting elderly citizens in Germany. The investigation has resulted in the arrest of six individuals, four in the Spanish capital and two in Germany, and has uncovered a fraud exceeding 1,260,000 euros, affecting at least 14 identified victims.

The operation began in late February when German authorities alerted their Spanish counterparts about a call center in Madrid using the 'shock call' technique. This method involved making over 100 daily calls to landlines of elderly people, simulating that a close family member had caused a serious accident, even with fatalities, to induce panic and guilt in the recipient.

Once the victim was in distress, other members of the network would impersonate Law Enforcement Officers, demanding payment of approximately 90,000 euros, or the delivery of gold and jewelry, to prevent the alleged relative's imprisonment. To lend credibility to the deception, a third member would pose as a prosecutor, giving instructions on where to deposit the money, supposedly at the victim's country's courts. Subsequently, other scammers would appear in person as prosecutors, meet the victim near the courts, and seize the money before they could contact family or acquaintances.

In March, after several weeks of investigation and international coordination, agents raided a rented apartment in Madrid, where they identified the perpetrators and dismantled the call center. The four individuals arrested in Madrid have been provisionally imprisoned awaiting extradition, while the two arrested in Germany were also jailed, charged with continuous fraud and belonging to a criminal organization. Searches in Germany led to the recovery of 920 grams of gold and several valuable watches, and the investigation remains open to identify more potential victims.