Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan regional police, say they have dismantled a criminal network based in Granollers that allegedly diverted 788 mobile phones by impersonating customers and marking orders as delivered when the real buyers had not received them.

According to the source material, 12 people were arrested in the police operation. The alleged fraud caused losses of €1.1 million to a telecoms operator. For customers, the central point is that the case involved false delivery records made in the names of people who, police say, never received the devices.

Police account of fraud method

The source material says the group obtained 788 devices by posing as customers and faking the delivery stage so the phones could be diverted away from the legitimate recipients. Police say the handsets were then channelled into the black market.

The reported centre of the network was Granollers, in Vallès Oriental. The article supplied as the main source states that the phones appeared in operator records as having been delivered to customers who in fact had not received them.

The network obtained 788 devices by impersonating customers and faking deliveries to divert them to the black market.

What the source material confirms

  • 12 people were arrested, according to the supplied source story body.
  • The alleged loss to the operator was €1.1 million.
  • Police say 788 mobile phones were diverted.
  • The network was identified in connection with Granollers.

The supplied materials do not provide a verified official public reporting channel from the operator for affected customers. They also do not identify the operator by name in the evidence provided here.

They do, however, make clear the alleged mechanism under investigation: identity impersonation, false delivery confirmation and diversion of high-value devices away from the intended customer.

Police have presented the case as a fraud against the telecoms operator, with the customer identity allegedly used to obtain phones that never reached the named recipient. The reported loss in the case was €1.1 million for 788 devices.

Primary sources: govern.cat. Reported by Source Text Link, ABC, Xavi Moraleda, Clara Torradas Cura, Bill Toulas, Maria Pentinat, J. G. Albalat, Cesc Maideu, Elena Burés, lavanguardia.com, Joan Arcos, Gonzalo Pellicer Terol, apdnoticies.com.