Civil Police of Pará executes 28 arrest warrants in Mato Grosso, São Paulo, and Goiás
Those arrested are being investigated for money laundering, fraud, and criminal association
The Civil Police of Pará launched the operation “Virtual Shield” on Tuesday (20) and Wednesday (21). The actions resulted in the execution of 28 arrest warrants and 69 search and seizure warrants in the cities of Cuiabá, Várzea Grande, and Sinop, located in the state of Mato Grosso; in Ribeirão Preto, Birigui, and Jaboticabal, in the state of São Paulo; and in Rio Verde, in the state of Goiás.
The arrests are related to police investigations that examine criminal modalities of digital fraud, crimes against individual rights committed in a virtual environment, and criminal association. The entire operation was coordinated by the State Directorate for Combating Cyber Crimes (DECCC) and received support from the Civil Police of Mato Grosso (PCMT), São Paulo (PCSP), and Goiás (PCGO).
The frauds resulted in a direct loss of over R$ 403 thousand to the victims. “The criminals applied two distinct types of scams. One of them consists of the so-called ‘Third Intermediary’ where the criminal presents himself as a buyer to the legitimate owner of a car and, simultaneously, as a seller to the interested buyer. After mediating the negotiation and gaining the trust of both parties, he indicates third-party bank accounts to receive the amounts. When the victims realized the fraud, they could no longer contact the scammers. In the other scam, known as ‘False Relative’, the scammers contacted people via messaging app, posing as relatives, and requested that bank transfers be made to different accounts. In total, the losses of the victims from both scams exceed R$ 403 thousand,” explained Yan Almeida, the chief of the Division for Combating Crimes Against Individual Rights Committed by Cyber Means (DCDI).
Partnership of the Police of Mato Grosso, São Paulo, and Goiás
To ensure that the judicial warrants were executed efficiently and quickly, the PCPA relied on the unrestricted support of the Civil Police of Mato Grosso, São Paulo, and Goiás. “Our teams from the Fraud Investigation Department provided logistical and operational support to the teams of the Civil Police of Pará. The number of targets in Cuiabá was very large, so it was necessary to assist in gathering addresses of the targets, as well as in identifying them. After the arrests, our teams were ready to proceed with the legal proceedings and the transportation of the detainees. Support from other units of the PC of Mato Grosso was also necessary during the operation to execute the warrants,” emphasized delegate Eliane Morais, head of the Specialized Fraud and Other Frauds Department of Cuiabá (PCMT).
Scam “Third Intermediary” - The suspects copied ads for vehicles with low prices to attract buyers, posed as intermediaries of the sale, and arranged meetings between victims and sellers. They sent fake transfer receipts to the vehicle sellers, buying time to withdraw the money before the scam was discovered. The scammer uses disposable phone numbers and third-party bank accounts to receive the amounts, making tracking and recovery of the money difficult. At the moment of closing the deal, the owner refused to transfer the vehicle at the notary because he had not received the agreed amount, and the buyer ended up at a loss.
During the investigations, police teams identified that payments were passed to several people and, at the same time, the amount was transferred to the same man who initiated the conversation with the car owners. After the banking secrecy was broken, it was possible to notice high movement in the investigated accounts.
Scam “False Relative” - The criminals contacted the victim through an unknown number, stating that this would be the new contact of a certain relative. Throughout the conversation, the scammer informed that he needed to pay a bill and asked for a bank transfer, but assured that the amount would be returned. When the transaction was completed, the contact was blocked. After the investigations, it was possible to identify that the perpetrators of the crime reside in the city of Cuiabá.
“The operation launched by the PCPA over these two consecutive days shows the institution's commitment to holding criminals accountable wherever they are. For this, the partnership with the civil police of other states is essential. My sincere thanks to PCMT, PCSP, and PCGO who spared no effort to assist us in this mission,” pointed out delegate Benassuly, manager of the PCPA.
The investigations revealed strong evidence that those involved in both scams are part of a structured criminal association dedicated to the practice of electronic fraud. “All our victims are from the state of Pará, but the scam is applied in several states of the federation. We seized credit and debit cards, cell phones, laptops, external hard drives, and documents. The arrested will answer for money laundering, fraud, and criminal association. We also executed a search and seizure warrant at the residence of a suspect for child exploitation and sexual harassment in the cyber environment. Electronic devices were found and seized at the residence,” detailed delegate Yan Almeida.
Agents from the Division for Combating Economic and Property Crimes Committed by Cyber Means (DCCEP), the Division for Combating Crimes Against Individual Rights Committed by Cyber Means (DCDI), and the Division for Combating Crimes Committed Against Vulnerable Individuals Committed by Cyber Means (DCCV), all units linked to DECCC/PCPA, also participated in the action.
