Ham from Wallets: How “Pigs” Butchered Spaniards for Millions
Police spent three years chasing the masterminds worldwide — only to find them hiding in plain sight.
Police spent three years chasing the masterminds worldwide — only to find them hiding in plain sight.
Spanish police have dismantled a massive fraudulent investment scheme that scammed victims out of over $11.8 million (more than €10 million). The operation took place simultaneously in Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, and Alicante, resulting in the arrest of 21 individuals.
The operation was a joint effort between Catalonia’s regional police Mossos d’Esquadra, the Civil Guard, and the National Police of Spain. During raids, officers seized seven luxury vehicles, as well as over $1.5 million (around €1.3 million) in cash and cryptocurrency.
According to investigators, the fraudsters launched their scheme in 2022. Since then, over 300 complaints have been filed from victims across the country. The scam was built around persuading people to invest in supposedly prestigious companies or crypto projects — all entirely fake. It involved a network of fake advisors, phony websites, and professionally-run call centers.
Police say the scammers created a fictitious investment firm that was heavily promoted on social media. The scheme resembled what’s known as “pig butchering” scams — where criminals build trust through online ads, fake branding, and fabricated reviews.
Once a victim showed interest, they were redirected to fraudulent investment platforms claiming to deal in cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, tech stocks, or gold. These websites displayed fake profits and, to build trust, often allowed victims to withdraw small amounts early on.
But once larger sums were deposited, access was suddenly blocked. Victims who tried to recover their funds were told they had to pay “withdrawal taxes” or “processing fees” — another trick to extract even more money. In reality, nothing was ever returned.
One striking feature of this scam was the use of real offices and call centers that closely mimicked legitimate investment firms. The call operators were trained with detailed scripts that included psychological manipulation and high-pressure tactics. Most of these offices were located in Barcelona, rented only for 3–4 months to avoid detection. They were even equipped with panic buttons to instantly wipe systems in the event of a police raid.
Spanish authorities emphasized that such fraud centers are typically based in Asia or Eastern Europe, where tracking down perpetrators is much harder. That’s why discovering such an operation inside Spain came as a surprise.
This case is part of a larger crackdown on financial fraud in Spain. Just a week earlier, another huge crypto-related scam was uncovered — involving over $540 million (€460 million) laundered from 5,000 global victims.
And in April 2025, Spanish police arrested six individuals who used AI-generated fake ads to promote phony investments. That operation tricked more than 200 victims, stealing nearly €19 million (about $20.9 million).
