DF police arrest gang that sold fake relative scam kits; see how not to be a victim

Federal District police arrested a gang specializing in the so-called “false relative scam”. The criminals sold step-by-step kits for other scammers to deceive their victims.

Police seized cell phones, computers, lots of cell phone chips and documents from the homes of those investigated in Ceilândia and Taguatinga, in the Federal District, and in Goiânia. Two women and three men were arrested.

The operation investigates the crimes of criminal organization, qualified embezzlement and money laundering. According to the police, the suspects divided themselves into groups to sell a kit with step-by-step instructions for other criminals to commit the fake relative's scam.

First, the Brasília center enabled cell phone chips with CPFs of people who were unaware of the scheme. The Goiânia center received the chips and created accounts in messaging applications to carry out the scams. The chips went into kits, along with the potential victim's cell phone number, data and photos of her relatives. All obtained criminally. There was even a script for the "invented story" to ask for money.

DF police arrest gang that sold fake relative scam kits; see how not to be a victim — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

The operation is the result of an investigation that lasted five months. The Cybercrime Repression Police Department opened an investigation after a 72-year-old retired Brasília resident fell for the fake relative's scam. She thought she was talking to her son, but in fact, he was a swindler. Loss of more than R$53 thousand. She, who does not want to be identified for her safety, received an alleged message from her son on her cell phone. There was a photo of him and a request for help:

“He said: ‘It’s urgent, Mom.’ He put pressure on... Like: ‘Mom, I need you to do this now.’ And, as I trusted him a lot... I, yes, went there and did it without thinking.”

The retiree made a PIX of R$2,500, paid several bills and only realized the scam when her "son" asked her to take out a loan.

"The urgency that my supposed son had for me to make transfers for him was so convincing that I kept doing it, doing it, doing it. Afterwards I felt like a real idiot", says the victim.

The pensioner went to the police station. Police have already identified 19 victims in six months - most of them elderly. To avoid falling for the scam, the delegate gives a tip:

"Fix a phrase or something with your family members. And then you ask something that only - a code -, something that only you know. This tip is valuable, because criminals will certainly not have that. Suspicious and, if possible, sign this code among family members. And then we can avoid this type of crime", advises police chief João Guilherme de Carvalho.