Twenty people have been arrested in Armilla and Pinos Puente, Granada, for allegedly ripping off individuals and companies via the ‘ATM scam’.
Taking advantage of weekends and ‘puente’ holidays, the band would arrange to purchase luxury items and pretend to deposit funds via ATM’s.
The system still works (why it hasn’t been changed is anyone’s guess) on the principle that an envelope, supposedly containing money, is deposited to an account via an ATM. The amount of the transaction immediately appears on that account, giving the impression that all has gone well.
However, when the bank reopens and the envelope is physically checked, it turns out to be empty. The account transaction is then reversed. This leaves the account holder without payment and without the goods he has just sold.
The detainees bought clothes, foodstuffs, luxury vehicles and other items via this method, carefully timing their ‘purchases’ to allow the maximum time before the banks nullified the payments.