National Police in Alicante have arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of fraud, according to local media reports published on 1 November. He had offered to help a woman register as a courier on a food-delivery platform. She gave him her details and the account was created, but he did not give her the login details. When she asked for access back, he asked for €50, and she then went to the police.
The woman's bank account was linked to the courier account, while the man entered his own phone number and email address to receive orders. As a result she could not contact the delivery company to tell it what was happening. He is alleged to have accepted only cash orders and declined card payments, keeping money from customers that was owed to the food supplier and the delivery platform. Because her bank account was tied to the account, she ended up owing money to the delivery company.
Police say the man had previously had incidents with the delivery company, which had closed his access to the platform for opening new accounts. He is therefore believed to have used the woman's details instead. Once he had been identified, officers organised a search, found him and arrested him.
He is suspected of falsedad documental (forgery of documents), estafa (fraud) and usurpación de identidad (identity theft). When the police work was completed, he was placed at the disposal of Alicante's duty investigating court (Juzgado de Instrucción en funciones de guardia).
The reports do not name the platform, give the size of the debt or say what the court decided. They also do not say whether the woman has regained access to the account or whether the debt has been written off.
