Suspected gigolo scam gang arrested

AN ALLEGED criminal group making money out of would-be gigolos who responded to false job adverts has been busted on the Costa del Sol.

Police began investigating when a woman in Barcelona reported that her son had been tricked out of money after applying to work as a gigolo.

The fake advert was found to have been placed by a company in Fuengirola, which worked placing personal and job adverts in newspapers across Spain.

Upon calling the number in the ads, scam victims were offered an attractive job but told they would have to pay between €250 and €8,000 in fees in advance.

The men were informed there was already a customer interested in meeting them and urged to fill in forms and pay the fees as soon as possible.

An average of 25 calls per day were received, leading the group to pocket an estimated €300,000 in fees over the last two years.

Five arrests have been made and €46,660 in cash and files on 300 victims confiscated from the alleged ringleader’s home.