Fraud on the Culture Bonus: ten reports and searches throughout Italy
The suspects generated vouchers that were then “spent” in fictitious commercial establishments
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A large-scale computer scam targeting the “Bonus Cultura,” the 500-euro state grant for new 18-year-olds, was discovered by the State Police, who reported ten people and conducted as many searches in various Italian regions.
The investigation, launched in the summer of 2023 and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Florence, has allowed us to reveal a complex fraudulent system based on the illicit activation of parallel SPIDs in the name of unsuspecting beneficiaries of the bonus, in order to misappropriate public funds.
The investigation began following 70 complaints filed by young citizens , who had seen their credit for the purchase of books, music, museum and show tickets stolen. Investigators from the Operations Center for Cyber Security (COSC) of Tuscany discovered that the scammers had activated false digital identities with compliant providers, thus accessing the 18app platform in place of the entitled parties.
Once inside the system, the suspects generated vouchers that were then “spent” in fictitious commercial establishments, registered to the same scammers, with the subsequent issuance of false electronic invoices to obtain reimbursements from the Ministry of Culture for goods that were never actually sold.
During the investigations, which were extended across the entire national territory thanks to the collaboration of the COSCs of Piedmont, Umbria, Campania and Puglia, a worrying picture emerged: over 2,500 irregular SPIDs used to generate approximately 2,000 scammed vouchers , validated by seven phantom commercial activities spread across various Italian regions. The estimated damage amounts to approximately 400,000 euros, but was partly contained thanks to the timely intervention of the Ministry of Culture, which blocked the suspicious reimbursements.
During the searches, computer devices, SPID credentials, digital signatures, POS devices, current accounts, payment cards and other evidence confirming the accusatory picture were seized . The investigators also found passwords and PINs of cards registered to third parties, presumably used to commit further crimes.
At the moment, the ten defendants are accused, to varying degrees, of computer fraud, aggravated fraud for the purpose of obtaining public funds and money laundering.
