I am Luis Jurado Cano, a criminal lawyer registered with the A Coruña Bar Association under number 6317, and at Perseus & RC Abogados I handle fraud cases from both sides, for people who have lost money and for people who have been reported. The office is on Rúa Torreiro in A Coruña and we have clients throughout Galicia. If the fraud happened online, there is more detail on the cybercrime page.
Types of fraud we handle
- Bank fraud, when money leaves your account through a fake bank call, text or a duplicated SIM.
- Investment and cryptocurrency scams, including fake platforms and recovery companies.
- Rental and property scams, from a deposit on a flat that does not exist to the sale of a home by someone who does not own it.
- Private sales, second-hand cars, Wallapop and Vinted.
- Unpaid loans and business partners, where the line between fraud and debt decides the case.
- Misappropriation, when someone entrusted with money keeps it.
- Accused of fraud, and money mule investigations for people who lent their account.
The first hours
If it is happening now, the steps in order and the fraud line of each Spanish bank are on the scam in progress page.
The urgent thing is to try to stop the money. A transfer can still be held if the receiving bank is warned before the fraudster withdraws it, and that is decided in hours. Call your bank, ask it to alert the receiving bank and try to recall the payment, and confirm it in writing.
Then report it, because only once there is a criminal complaint can the court freeze the fraudster’s account and obtain their name from the bank and the phone number’s owner from the operator. You can report it at a police station without a lawyer. The alternative is a formal complaint (querella), which we file with a court representative. It costs more, but it makes you a party to the case from day one and asks the judge from the start for what is needed to follow the money.
Keep everything as it is. Conversations, payment receipts showing the account or phone number you paid, contracts, the advert with its web address and screenshots with the date visible. Do not pay anyone who offers to recover the money for a fee, because it is often the same fraudster under another name.
How the money is recovered
The first route is the criminal case itself. If the fraudster is convicted, the judgment orders them to return what they took and compensate you, without a separate lawsuit. To avoid depending only on the public prosecutor, you can join the case with your own lawyer as private prosecutor (acusación particular), which lets us ask for accounts to be frozen, appeal if the case is closed and push the investigation. It is better done early.
The second is your bank. If the money left your account without your instruction, because someone got into your online banking, used your card or duplicated your SIM card, the law obliges the bank to refund it, and it is the bank that must prove fraud or serious carelessness on your part. The Spanish Supreme Court has already ruled on banks’ liability for transactions of this kind. You must claim without delay and never later than thirteen months after the debit.
The third is a civil claim against whoever received the money, once they are identified and if they have assets.
Fraud or debt?
Many fraud complaints are closed because what they describe is only a debt. For fraud there has to be deception before the payment, and it has to be the reason you handed over the money. If the other person meant to perform and later could not, it is a debt for the civil courts. If they never meant to and the deal was their way of keeping your money, it is fraud. For the victim this is what keeps the complaint alive, and for the accused it is usually the first line of defence.
If you have been reported for fraud
Do not give a statement without first knowing what is in the file. Gather the contracts, messages and receipts that show you performed or tried to, or that you were also deceived, as happens to people who lent their account to receive and forward a transfer. If the facts are not in dispute, repaying the money before trial reduces the sentence, and a first-time offender sentenced to two years or less can have the sentence suspended if they pay or undertake to pay.
Penalties and time limits
| What happened | Penalty | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Fraud of 400 euros or less | Fine | One year |
| Fraud of more than 400 euros | Six months to three years in prison | Five years |
| Online fraud, or fraud with your card or credentials | Six months to three years in prison | Five years |
| Serious fraud, for example over 50,000 euros, many victims, involving a home or abusing trust | One to six years in prison and a fine | Ten years |
| Fraud of more than 250,000 euros | Four to eight years in prison and a fine | Ten years |
Who handles your case
I handle fraud cases myself. I hold a law degree from the University of Seville and have been teaching digital investigation since 2015. I have given training at C1b3rWall, the Spanish National Police cybersecurity congress held at its school in Ávila, and I have spoken at INCIBE’s CyberCamp 2015, before more than 3,000 attendees, with the workshop on YouTube in Spanish and in English, and at Navaja Negra, SECAdmin and Sh3llCON. La Voz de Galicia consulted me in 2025 on cryptocurrency fraud. Civil claims against the bank are handled together with Ana Reza, managing partner of the civil department.
Where we are
Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone +34 677 841 007. See also criminal defence and debt recovery.
Frequently asked questions
I have been scammed in Spain. What should I do first?
Call your bank straight away, ask it to try to stop the transfer or payment, and confirm it in writing. Then report it to the police with everything you have. Do not delete messages or emails, stop talking to the fraudster and do not pay anyone who promises to recover the money for a fee.
How long do I have to report a fraud in Spain?
Legally, one year if the amount was 400 euros or less, five years if it was more, and ten years for serious fraud, counted from the day it happened. Against the bank you must claim without delay and at the latest within thirteen months of the debit. In practice you need to act within hours, because the money leaves the fraudster's account quickly and the data that identify them are kept only for a limited time.
Can I get my money back after a scam?
Often yes, depending on how you paid and how quickly you act. If the money left your account without your instruction, the bank must refund it unless it proves you acted fraudulently or with serious carelessness. If you made the payment yourself, the money comes back when the fraudster is convicted and has assets, which is why their accounts must be frozen early. If you paid in cash or cryptocurrency to someone unidentified, the chances drop, and I will tell you so at the first consultation.
Does the bank have to refund money lost to fraud?
If you did not make or authorise the transaction, yes, and it is the bank that must prove fraud or serious carelessness on your part in order to refuse. If you made the transfer yourself because you were deceived, the claim is harder and depends on how the bank acted. The bank's first refusal does not close the matter.
What is the penalty for fraud in Spain?
A fine if the amount does not exceed 400 euros, and six months to three years in prison above that. In serious cases, for example over 50,000 euros, with many victims or abusing a relationship of trust, one to six years, and above 250,000 euros four to eight years.
Can you help if I do not live in A Coruña or do not speak Spanish?
Yes. We advise clients elsewhere in Galicia, Spain and abroad by phone and video call, in English.