Teen who allegedly stole millions of personal data records arrested in Spain

Spanish law enforcement has arrested a 19-year-old man in northeastern Spain for allegedly stealing and selling about 64 million personal data records siphoned from nine companies, police said on Tuesday.

The suspect, detained last week in Igualada, allegedly accessed the systems of several companies to obtain large volumes of personal information — including national identity numbers (DNI), home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and IBAN bank codes — which he then sold on hacker forums. It remains unclear how many individuals were affected.

According to the National Police, the investigation began in June after authorities detected the theft of data linked to multiple firms. Officers later identified the suspect and traced six online accounts and five pseudonyms used to advertise and sell the stolen databases.

During a search last week, officers seized several electronic devices and hardware-based cryptocurrency wallets, the National Police said. Investigators also froze a crypto wallet allegedly used to collect proceeds from the sales.

In a separate incident, Polish police said they arrested three Ukrainian men earlier this week after discovering hacking equipment in their car, including SIM cards, antennas, hard drives and a device used to detect hidden surveillance tools.

The men, who described themselves as IT specialists, were unable to explain why they possessed the equipment, police said. They face charges including fraud, computer fraud and possessing tools intended to commit cybercrime or damage IT systems deemed important to national defence.