No, Spain is not on alert over fake census-checking gangs
A viral hoax spreading across social media is falsely warning of a group of scammers posing as Ministry of Interior staff, but Spanish authorities have issued no such alert
A widely shared hoax on social media has sparked concern among residents in Spain, falsely warning that criminal gangs are going door to door posing as employees from the Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace.The messages claim that under the guise of conducting an “upcoming census”, these supposed officials are attempting to access private homes for some unknown purpose, perhaps burglaries.
However, there is no evidence to support these claims, and fact-checkers have confirmed that this warning is not relevant to Spain.
According to Spanish fact-checking platform Newtral https://www.newtral.es/falsos-empleados-ministerio-interior/20250728/, the messages appear to be part of a viral misinformation campaign that has been circulating in several Latin American countries since June 2024.
The hoax describes groups of individuals allegedly carrying official-looking documents, laptops, biometric machines and lists of residents’ names.
They reportedly request personal information such as identification and fingerprints while posing as officials from a ministry they refer to as the ‘Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace’.
However, the first thing that should make people suspicious is the fact that this ministry does not even actually exist in Spain. There is such a ministry in Mexico and Venezuela, but not in Spain. The equivalent institution here is simply called the ‘Ministerio del Interior’. What’s more, searches of official databases and media sources in Spain reveal no reports of home burglaries or scams using this method.
VerificaRTVE, another Spanish fact-checking body, also investigated the viral warning and confirmed it to be a hoax. They found no records of this type of crime taking place in Spain and received confirmation from the Ministry of the Interior that no such door-to-door initiative exists.
The ministry also clarified that it does not carry out identity verification at private residences using biometric equipment.
The misleading messages have been circulated widely in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, as well as Spain. Multiple local fact-checking organisations, including Animal Político, Efecto Cocuyo, Cazadores de Fake News and Cotejo, have all debunked the claims.
In some cases, Latin American government ministries issued public statements confirming that their employees do not request personal information or attempt to enter homes.
Although the hoax may have originated in Latin America, it has now reached social media users in Spain. Authorities and fact-checkers stress that there is currently no known threat of gangs impersonating Spanish Interior Ministry staff to commit crimes.
Anyone who receives such messages is advised not to share them further and to rely on trusted news outlets or official government sources for information.
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
