> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://barna.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Four arrested over fake rental adverts - URL: https://barna.news/four-arrested-over-fake-rental-adverts/ - Published: 2026-11-13T15:56:40.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-13T15:56:40.000Z - Description: The Guardia Civil investigation identified two alleged groups operating in Barcelona and Madrid and targeting tourists and students. - Author: Barna.News News Desk - Tags: crime The Guardia Civil, Spain’s national police force, has arrested four people in an investigation into fake housing rental adverts in Barcelona and Madrid, the Catalan News Agency (ACN) reported on Friday 13th November. Tourists and students paid for accommodation they never rented, according to the report. Investigators identified seven people and detected two separate groups allegedly using the same method. The inquiry, given the operational name @RENT 5, began after several victims reported paying for properties they did not secure. The name refers to the police investigation, rather than a rental service or website. --- ## How the alleged rental fraud worked According to ACN, the alleged perpetrators placed housing adverts and told people who responded that other prospective renters were interested in the property. That claim put pressure on them to pay quickly. The advertisers also sent photographs of identity documents that did not match their own identities, giving prospective renters an apparent means of identifying the person offering the accommodation. The documents came from several sources: - Documents that had been lost. - Documents that had been stolen. - Documents belonging to victims of earlier frauds. After receiving bank transfers, the advertisers stopped answering messages, ACN reported. The victims who made complaints had paid for accommodation but never went on to rent it. --- ## Bank transfers and arrests Investigators found that money was passed through bank accounts belonging to third parties, often described as money mules. Those account holders received transfers and moved the funds in exchange for a commission, according to ACN. Using those accounts made it harder to trace the money and identify the people responsible for the alleged fraud. Officers examined bank movements alongside documents supplied by victims and several images. That analysis helped investigators identify the people allegedly involved and distinguish two groups using the same approach. In the first phase of the operation, officers located and arrested two people in Madrid. Four people were arrested in total across the investigation into the groups operating in Barcelona and Madrid. ACN reported that seven people had been identified; its report did not describe all seven as having been arrested. --- *Sources:* [*20minutos*](https://www.20minutos.es/cataluna/barcelona/cuatro-detenidos-barcelona-madrid-por-estafar-turistas-estudiantes-con-falsos-anuncios-alquiler-viviendas%5F7060645%5F0.html?ref=barna.news)*,* [*web.guardiacivil.es*](https://web.guardiacivil.es/es/destacados/noticias/Detenida-una-trama-acusada-de-estafar-casi-16-millones-de-euros-por-internet/?ref=barna.news)*.* --- ### Related on Barna.News - [Two fake police officers arrested in Eixample](https://barna.news/two-fake-police-officers-arrested-in/) - [Man with 82 police records held over phone theft in Eixample](https://barna.news/man-with-82-police-records-held-over/)