Over 100 involved in 'son in trouble' WhatsApp scam arrested in Spain

Over 100 people in Spain were arrested earlier this week for allegedly stealing thousands of euros from WhatsApp users, claiming to be relatives in distress, the BBC reported.

Authorities revealed that those arrested were a part of a criminal group that received nearly a million euros through the scam.

According to El Pais newspaper, the arrests took place between February and April and all have been charged with fraud, money laundering and being part of a criminal organisation.

The Guardia Civil, one of Spain's national police forces, said that transfers induced from victims ranged from €800 to €55,000.

Alicante province has seen at least 238 victims identified, with arrests taking place in stages across Alicante, Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Malaga and Valencia.

The latest arrests come after the Policia Nacional, Spain's other nationwide force, announced in January it had apprehended 59 members of a criminal gang which had scammed over 460,000 euros (£393,000) from victims using the same "son in trouble" method.

Fraudsters tricked victims into sending money by pretending to be relatives in an emergency, claiming their phone has been lost or damaged and they have been locked out of their bank account.

In a more complex scenario, they trick a person into giving them a two-factor authentication code, posing as a contact and claiming they sent the code by mistake.

Once they have access to that person's account, they can contact relatives and friends asking for money.

UK residents have also fallen prey to the scam with a "spike" in reports of criminals attempting to gain control of WhatsApp accounts to target their contacts in November.

It is unknown if the scams in Spain and the UK are linked.