Fraudster posed as Luís Castro to solicit PIX payments from Grêmio players | OneFootball

Police in Rio Grande do Sul are investigating a group that posed as Grêmio head coach Luís Castro on messaging apps to scam players. Grêmio declined to comment.

According to Globo.com, the fourth Police Station in Porto Alegre is running Operation Falso 9 with support from the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police. On Wednesday, one preventive arrest and two search and seizure warrants were executed in Itaperuna, Rio de Janeiro. The suspect is under investigation for electronic fraud and false identity.

The case began after reports that a man contacted four players on WhatsApp using the coach’s picture, instructing them to arrive early at the training ground for a chat.

With one athlete, the impostor chatted for days about routine, family and training, praising his dedication, and asked him to keep the contact quiet.

He then sought money for a supposed charity in Rio de Janeiro, asking for 300 food baskets at R$ 75 each, a total of R$ 22,500. On six May this year he sent a random PIX key and told the player to pay.

A first transfer was blocked by the victim’s daily limit, so payment was rescheduled for the next morning and completed via PIX. The suspect then sent a purported receipt from the institution.

The same day he tried to escalate, saying another player outside Brazil wanted to fund 600 baskets, worth R$ 50,000, and asked the victim to advance the money, citing team-mates’ help. The attempt failed due to bank limits.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”