Spain’s Tax Agency Uses Fake Social Media Profiles to Track Tax Evaders
Spain’s tax agency is using sophisticated software, including the creation of fake online profiles, to monitor social media for potential tax evasion, according to recently disclosed contracts and reporting from El País. The Agencia Tributaria, the country’s tax authority, has spent over €800,000 on tools designed to analyze user behavior across platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, OnlyFans, and Patreon.
The first contract, awarded in June 2023 to Oesia Networks, a subsidiary of the defense and digitalization engineering firm Grupo Oesia, was for €177,468. A subsequent contract, awarded in September 2024 to Cipherbit SL, also part of Grupo Oesia, totaled €629,200, bringing the total investment to €806,668. The stated purpose of the contracts is to identify undeclared income and “select the most non-compliant taxpayers,” according to Agencia Tributaria documents.
The software is designed to process at least 100,000 usernames or profiles, initially targeting “influencers” but later expanding to include “undeclared residents,” individuals suspected of money laundering or corruption, those under investigation, and taxpayers already undergoing audits. The system analyzes not only quantitative data like followers, views, and likes, but also the content of posts, photos, videos, and associated metadata.
According to the contract specifications, the Agencia Tributaria intends to identify discrepancies between declared income and lifestyles suggested by social media activity, specifically looking for “photos with diverse location metadata” to establish lifestyles inconsistent with tax filings. To access content on platforms requiring subscriptions, the contracts stipulate that the software will create and maintain “avatars” – fake profiles – to gather information.
“The Agencia Tributaria is contracting a service that includes, by design, the creation of false identities to extract information,” said Bernardo Olivares, a professor of Mercantile, Financial and Tax Law at Complutense University of Madrid, in comments to El País. “This is not passive observation of public data; It’s active infiltration. It’s the tax agency becoming a follower on Twitch or a subscriber on Patreon to see what you publish, what you advertise, what you write and what is written to you.”
Alejandro Miguelez, an economist, lawyer, and member of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors (AEDAF), questioned the legality of the practice. He noted that Spanish law requires tax officials to identify themselves when acting outside of their offices and that the utilize of false identities is generally restricted to law enforcement under judicial authorization, a condition not met in this case. He also pointed to the AEAT’s Code of Ethics, which emphasizes integrity and exemplary conduct.
A spokesperson for the Agencia Tributaria told El País that the contracts were not intended to “spy on any taxpayer,” but rather to obtain quantitative data to help prioritize potential audits. Grupo Oesia, which includes divisions specializing in digital engineering, optics, cybersecurity, and satellite communications, reported a turnover of €256 million in 2024, with an EBITDA of €36.9 million and a net profit of €13.7 million.