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Christmas cheer! A LOCAL businessman is organising not one, but two, free parties for recovering addicts this Christmas and New Year. For those in recovery, the holiday season can be tough. Many face loneliness, loss, and the temptation to slip back into old habits. But this year, the Villa Paradiso Group is offering a lifeline with two free festive lunches on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day – and it’s not just about the food. “It’s about community, connection, and staying clean,” according to the centre. The rehab centre, famous for its ‘world-class’ recovery programmes, is rolling out the red carpet with a lavish buffet, Christmas lights and a relaxed atmosphere where guests can kick back without any pressure to drink. The idea is simple – a safe, supportive environment where former addicts can celebrate the holidays without facing the isolation and temptation that so often come with the season. “We want to make sure people aren’t alone at Christmas,” explained a spokesman. “Christmas is a tough time for many, especially if they’ve lost their families or feel disconnected. Our goal is to give them somewhere to go, somewhere they can enjoy the day without feeling like they’re being
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A BULGARIAN expat has told the Olive Press how phone scammers masquerading as police stole €10,000 from her in the run up to Black Friday. Also posing as ‘Bank of Spain’ officials she was talked into moving the money after being told a relative was under an Interpol investigation and had illegally obtained power of attorney over her bank account. The mother-of-two, based in Valencia, was advised to urgently transfer the funds to a ‘safe’ account linked to the Bank of Spain, or face being dragged into the fraud probe. “They told me if I did not collaborate I might end up in jail,” Elena Petrova, 49, told the Olive Press. Her ordeal started when she received a call from a woman who spoke to her in Bulgarian – though with a hint of an accent she identified as Russian. Masquerading as a ‘chief detective’ with the National Police, the woman spoke slowly and was ‘very convincing’.
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A call from the alleged bank official soon followed, ratcheting up the pressure on her to wire the funds to a Swiss bank account. Elena requested multiple times they speak in Spanish, but the fraudsters insisted that because Interpol was involved, all communication had to be conducted in Bulgarian. The scammers also sent the victim a photo of a Spanish police ID and a document bearing a Bank of Spain watermark (below) – both forged. “It was terrifying,” Elena continued. “They basically kept threatening me until I gave up.”
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SCAMMERS: WhatsApp messages from the criminals to Elena Olive Press she is angry her bank, La Caixa, has done ‘absolutely nothing’ to help her. ‘Nor did they try to protect me’. The bank she sent the money to, Swissquote, replied they were investigating the case – though Elena was never put through to the bank’s fraud specialists and could only speak to customer service. Even more audaciously, a day after she made the transfer to the Swiss bank the fraudsters came back for more… this time via text, insisting she send more money. Elena refused, insisting the bogus officials meet her in Valencia, hoping she could expose them. The scammers then threatened her, writing: “What if you cannot prove you are innocent? Make money while in jail? Are you going to pay off your debt from there?” This time, the fake officer agreed to Elena’s request to communicate in Spanish, but he would never answer
After parting with the money and realising she had fallen victim to a scam, she reported the case to Valencia’s National police, who have now launched a probe into the matter. It soon emerged she is far from the only victim of the scammers, with at least three people losing €45,000 between them recently We understand the conmen have been targeting multiple Bulgarian and Russian nationals based in Spain. In each case they demand urgent transfers of several thousand euros to foreign bank accounts, with victims subjected to intense psychological pressure, including threats. In one case, a scammer sent a victim a chilling message: “How are you going to look your children in the eye if you lose all your money?” We have managed to uncover two similar cases in Cantabria, in which €38,000, and the recent one in Valencia. JUMP THE Elena told the QUEUE: TIE holders should not use the EES lane
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Phone scammers have been preying on fellow expats across Spain posing as police and bank officials, an Olive Press investigation has revealed
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calls and the texts appear to have been run through an AI translator. Cyber-crime in Spain has surged in recent years, reflecting a growing national security and public-safety challenge. According to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, more than 350,000 people were hit with cyber-crimes in 2023, with the bulk of these cases involving online scams, phishing, or fraudulent financial operations.
Crime Prosecutions continue to lag behind – only about 14% of cyber-crime cases were solved in 2023, even though police arrested or investigated roughly 17,000 people that year. National police have warned never to trust unknown callers who demand urgent transfers of money. “When in doubt, always check your own bank first,” said a spokesman. Opinion Page 6
EE-Ecstasy SPAIN’S Interior Ministry has finally clarified that British residents holding a TIE card MUST not use the new Entry Exit System queues when entering or leaving the country. It now advises that UK nationals are exempt from the torturous queues so long as they hold a valid residence document – such as a TIE. Instead, they should go to a staffed passport booth and show both their passport and TIE card. It brings long-awaited clarity for tens of thousands of British residents after weeks of contradictory guidance from different authorities. The Policia Nacional in Malaga had already settled on telling residents with a TIE to avoid the EES kiosks after weeks of officers seeming to have no clue as to what was the official line. The guidance is especially timely with the Christmas season upon us, with the government warning that Brits with TIEs who mistakenly pass through the EES kiosks will end up being registered as tourists. This could play havoc as they will be logged under the 90 day rule. The result could be future flags for overstaying, delays at the border or the need to formally request deletion or correction of their EES record.