More Than 1,000 Cybercriminals Arrested As Part Of A Large-scale Interpol Operation

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Law enforcement officials intercepted an estimated $ 27 million stolen by the criminals. Interpol reported the arrest of 1,003 people associated with various cybercrimes, including romantic scams, financial fraud, money laundering, BEC fraud and illegal gambling. The arrests were carried out as part of a large-scale operation called HAEICHI-II, which covered 20 countries of the world, and took place from June to September 2021. Law enforcement officials intercepted an estimated $ 27 million stolen by criminals and blocked 2,350 bank accounts associated with various cybercrimes. During the operation, the police were able to identify at least ten new fraudulent schemes, according to a press release from Interpol.









In one of the cases of BEC fraud, attackers tried to lure $ 16 million from a Colombian textile company under the guise of a legal representative of the company. This amount was to be transferred to bank accounts in China in two transactions of $ 8 million. The company transferred half of the required amount, but then suspected fraud and contacted law enforcement agencies. Ultimately, Interpol was able to recover 94% of the amount.

In another case, a company in Slovenia suffered from fraud, which the attackers tricked into transferring $ 800,000 to the accounts of money mules in China. As in the previous case, the police managed to return the money to the injured firm.

Among the emerging trends in financial fraud, Interpol cites the exploitation of the popularity of The Shrimp Game to spread malware. One such case was seen in Colombia, where attackers distributed malicious applications disguised as mobile games based on the series. In reality, these apps automatically subscribed users to premium services without their consent.

This is the second such operation to combat online fraud carried out by law enforcement agencies. The first, called HAEICHI-I, was held from September 2020 to March 2021 in the Asia-Pacific region. It resulted in the arrest of 500 cybercriminals and the blocking of 1,600 fraudulent bank accounts. The police also managed to intercept a total of $ 83 million stolen by the attackers.
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