A Facebook group ends one of the most active cybercriminals in Spain

Agents of the Civil Guard have arrested the cybercriminal Jordi Otero.

A chainsaw for 160 euros, a brushcutter for 780, an air compressor for 250, and even a Yamaha motorcycle (without specifying age) for 300 euros.

The Facebook group

has been fuming in recent weeks with the laments of the dozens of victims who had been swindled, and sometimes extorted, by what was considered one of the most active cybercriminals in the country.

Jordi Otero Barro, 31 years old, has spent his first night in prison after the Civil Guard arrested him this Wednesday in Madrid after an intense investigation.

The detainee is aware of more than 250 crimes, including fraud and extortion, all of them committed by technological means, as well as numerous claims for detention and pending sentences after having been convicted by different courts in the national territory.

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Otero never came into possession of any of the products he used as bait for his victims.

According to the investigation by Team @ [at] of the Civil Guard of Jaén (in this province the criminal history of the detainee began in municipalities such as Jamilena, Villacarrillo, Alcalá la Real or Pozo Alcón), the alleged perpetrator of the denounced facts had created accounts on different Internet platforms —with a predilection for dating portals with women— in which he offered garden furniture and other products at very competitive prices.

In his offers, he substantially marked down products to encourage buyers to complete transactions.

The detainee gained the confidence to act, according to the investigators' account, by sending his victims photographs of other people saying that his identity was authentic, as well as forged identity documents and even on occasion identifying himself as a member of the forces and security forces or as a relative of a member.

Otero had it all studied.

So much so that he also deceived third parties into collaborating as

people are called who receive money from an illegal source in their bank account and transfer it to other accounts in exchange for a commission—, in laundering their benefits, all after gaining trust in different dating applications and social networks.

In this way, he provided his victims with the means of payment of those intermediaries

who received the money in their accounts, with the task of delivering it to him by other means, and under the excuse that it was a shipment of funds from a relative and that he was in a situation of need, as indicated by the Civil Guard, which has baptized this plot as Operation Oterwanted.

When the victims noticed the deception or the strangeness of these transactions, the detainee allegedly threatened and extorted them, so that they would continue collaborating in the laundering mechanisms, according to the agents who have carried out the investigation,

As the activity of the alleged fraudster grew, those affected organized themselves in Internet forums to try to put an end to their misdeeds.

"He wanted to sell me a brushcutter that has already been sold by its owner in Wallapop," complained one of the members of the group of victims who, like the vast majority, never received his purchase despite having made the financial transaction.

The Civil Guard calculates that the benefits for his recent criminal activities may exceed 100,000 euros.

Beyond the scam, Otero Barro is also accused of various crimes of extortion of his victims.

The @ Team of the Civil Guard recommends that "bargains" be distrusted, especially when they are excessively attractive or when the seller wishes to carry out the transaction urgently or quickly.

In any case, agents specialized in investigating crimes committed through new technologies believe it is convenient to carry out reliable checks on the identity of the seller, by video calls or personal documentation, verifying his reputation on the platforms and the existence of the desired product. acquire.

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