The fraud began when the criminals impersonated one of the architects of the Valladolid company to request an urgent payment of 10,000 euros, providing an altered bank account number. The victim completed the transfer, only realizing the deception weeks later after contacting the actual intended recipient company.

The investigation, conducted by the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade, determined that the detainees acted as "mules," responsible for quickly moving the stolen money between different accounts in exchange for a small commission.

The "man in the middle" scam involves monitoring the emails of executives or managers to intercept communications and modify the payment details on invoices. This practice often involves transfers to foreign accounts to complicate traceability.

Despite the complexity of the case, the police managed to recover 4,638 euros of the 10,000 euros defrauded and concluded the investigation earlier this month with the arrest of the two individuals.