Meta Removes 63,000 Instagram Accounts Linked to Nigerian Sextortion Scams

Meta Platforms on Wednesday said it took steps to remove around 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria that were found to target people with financial sextortion scams. "These included a smaller coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts that we were able to link to a group of around 20...

Experts Uncover Chinese Cybercrime Network Behind Gambling and Human Trafficking

--- The relationship between various TDSs and DNS associated with Vigorish Viper and the final landing experience for the user A Chinese organized crime syndicate with links to money laundering and human trafficking across Southeast Asia has been using an advanced "technology suite" that runs the...

The $11 Billion Marketplace Enabling the Crypto Scam Economy

Deepfake scam services. Victim data. Electrified shackles for human trafficking. Crypto tracing firm Elliptic found all were available for sale on an online marketplace linked to Cambodia’s ruling family...

Deepfake Creators Are Revictimizing GirlsDoPorn Sex Trafficking Survivors

The most notorious deepfake sexual abuse website is hosting altered videos originally published as part of the GirlsDoPorn operation. Experts say this new low is only the beginning...

Indian Government Rescues 250 Citizens Forced into Cybercrime in Cambodia

The Indian government said it has rescued and repatriated about 250 citizens in Cambodia who were held captive and coerced into running cyber scams. The Indian nationals "were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work," the Ministry of...

“Pig butchering” is an evolution of a social engineering tactic we’ve seen for years

Whether you want to call them "catfishing," "pig butchering" or just good old-fashioned "social engineering," romance scams have been around forever. I was first introduced to them through the MTV show "Catfish," but recently they seem to be making headlines as the term "pig butchering" enters th...

Utilizing Programmatic Advertising to Locate Abducted Children: Unleashing its Power

By Owais Sultan The global struggle against human trafficking and child abduction persists as a grave crime that exploits countless individuals.… This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Utilizing Programmatic Advertising to Locate Abducted Children: Unleashing its Power...

Criminal secure messaging system takedown: 6500+ arrests and €900 million+ seized

In 2020, we reported on how law enforcement managed to compromise a secure communications system set up by and for criminals. Now, Europol has published a progress report showing the enormous impact the infiltration of the encrypted communications tool EncroChat made. EncroChat, a company based i...

EncroChat Bust Leads to 6,558 Criminals' Arrests and €900 Million Seizure

Europol on Tuesday announced that the takedown of EncroChat in July 2020 led to 6,558 arrests worldwide and the seizure of €900 million in illicit criminal proceeds. The law enforcement agency said that a subsequent joint investigation initiated by French and Dutch authorities intercepted and...

Darknet Carding Kingpin Pleads Guilty: Sold Financial Info of Tens of Thousands

A U.S. national has pleaded guilty in a Missouri court to operating a darknet carding site and selling financial information belonging to tens of thousands of victims in the country. Michael D. Mihalo, aka Dale Michael Mihalo Jr. and ggmccloud1, has been accused of setting up a carding site calle...

Operation SpecTor: $53.4 Million Seized, 288 Vendors Arrested in Dark Web Drug Bust

An international law enforcement operation has resulted in the arrest of 288 vendors who are believed to be involved in drug trafficking on the dark web, adding to a long list of criminal enterprises that have been shuttered in recent years. The effort, codenamed Operation SpecTor, also saw the...

The Tragic Fallout From a School District’s Ransomware Breach

Plus: Cyber Command’s disruption of Iranian election hacking, an exposé on child sex trafficking on Meta’s platforms, and more...

Bitzlato Crypto Exchange Founder Arrested for Aiding Cybercriminals

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ on Wednesday announced the arrest of Anatoly Legkodymov aka Gandalf and Tolik, the cofounder of Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, for allegedly processing $700 million in illicit funds. The 40-year-old Russian national, who was arrested in...

TikTok Admits Staff in China Can Access Europeans’ Data

Plus: Liz Truss’ phone-hacking trouble, Cash App’s sex-trafficking problem, and the rising cost of ransomware...

INTERPOL-led Operation Takes Down 'Black Axe' Cyber Crime Organization

The International Criminal Police Organization, also called the Interpol, has announced the arrests of 75 individuals as part of a coordinated global operation against an organized cyber crime syndicate called Black Axe. "'Black Axe' and other West African organized crime groups have developed...

Massive Losses Define Epidemic of ‘Pig Butchering’

U.S. state and federal investigators are being inundated with reports from people whove lost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in connection with a complex investment scam known as "pig butchering," wherein people are lured by flirtatious strangers online into investing in cryptocurren...

Police seize and dismantle massive phishing operation

Europol has coordinated a joint operation to arrest members of a cybercrime gang and effectively dismantle their campaigns that netted million in Euros. This operation also led the Belgian Police Police Fédérale/Federale Politie and the Dutch Police Politie to nine arrests, 24 house searches, and...

Europol Busts Phishing Gang Responsible for Millions in Losses

Europol on Tuesday announced the dismantling of an organized crime group that dabbled in phishing, fraud, scams, and money laundering activities. The cross-border operation, which involved law enforcement authorities from Belgium and the Netherlands, saw the arrests of nine individuals in the Dut...

Interpol’s First Light operation smashes crime on a global scale

A large-scale Interpol operation has resulted in arrested and ill-gotten gains seizures galore. Operation First Light took place between March and May of this year. It involved 76 countries taking social engineers and telecommunications fraudsters to task, with multiple wins for those involved...

Threat from Organized Cybercrime Syndicates Is Rising

From encrypting communications to fencing ill-gotten gains on underground sites, organized crime is cashing in on the digital revolution. The latest organized crime threat assessment from Europol issues a dire warning about the corrosive effect the rising influence of criminal syndicates is havin...