{
  "id": 5060949,
  "title": "Phone Hijack Scam Costs Altea Woman More Than €76,000",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/phone-hijack-scam-costs-altea-woman-more-than-76-000",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T09:33:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Leader",
    "slug": "the-leader",
    "url": "https://theleader.info/2026/09/02/phone-hijack-scam-costs-altea-woman-more-than-e76000/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 72-year-old woman from Altea, Spain, reported losing over €76,000 from her bank account, according to the Guardia Civil. The investigation, Operation Joya26, revealed that two individuals, a 22-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, had hijacked the victim's mobile phone number and stolen funds from her account. The suspects are suspected of fraud and membership of a criminal organization. The fraud occurred after the victim's identity was used to transfer her phone number to another network provider. Upon gaining control of the mobile number, the suspects accessed her online banking account and requested three debit cards linked to the account. They used the cards, stolen funds, and various identities, telephone numbers, and delivery addresses to make purchases and transfers. The transactions included the purchase of a €26,200 luxury gold watch, €41,000 worth of electronic devices and gaming consoles, €9,915 spent on an online betting platform, and €2,415 used to buy five gold coins. Investigators identified 14 separate orders for technology products collected by different people. The suspects were arrested in Madrid and Valencia and released while the case is submitted to the Benidorm Court of First Instance. The Guardia Civil warns the public to be cautious of unexpected loss of mobile service, advises checking bank accounts regularly, and encourages reporting suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.",
  "summary": "The Guardia Civil has uncovered a sophisticated banking fraud in which criminals allegedly hijacked a 72-year-old woman’s mobile telephone number before stealing more than €76,000 from her account. Two suspects—a 22-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man—have been arrested as part of Operation Joya26. They are being investigated on suspicion of fraud and membership of a […] The post Phone Hijack…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}