Spanish Police Arrest 69 People Related To Online Ordering System Fraud

JAKARTA - Spanish police have arrested 69 people suspected of being linked to a criminal gang that broke into an online ordering system for a police appointment. They resell them to asylum seekers and other foreigners looking for a place to live in Spain.

Police say automated software apps or "bots" of the gang can bypass security measures designed to identify robots, so they can order "precise all" police meeting promises that are usually free across Spain and resell them for up to 200 euros per meeting.

In Spain, people seeking asylum or visas only have to submit documents to the police, where long queues are common.

These gang leaders formed a company that leased the bot to an intermediary who then sold the meeting promise.

Police statement said intermediaries and lawyers and advisors had been aware of the "and the issues associated with it which caused problems for foreigners who, on many occasions, were in a very vulnerable and desperate situation".

Among those arrested were four gang leaders in Barcelona and Valencia. During the raid, the police confiscated documents and found more than 200,000 euros (Rp3.2 billion) in cash.

The use of bots that can operate for 24 hours for online activities such as buying music concert tickets is increasingly becoming a common tool used by ticket sellers. High-level bot traffic disrupted sales of Taylor Swift's concert ticket last year, attracting the attention of US senators.