Operation Contender 3.0: INTERPOL, Group-IB, Trend Micro disrupt cybercrime networks

𝗠𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 In a powerful show of cross-border collaboration, authorities in 14 African countries joined forces with INTERPOL, Group-IB, and Trend Micro under Operation Contender 3.0 — leading to a major disruption of cyber-enabled crime networks exploiting digital platforms and social media. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: • 𝟮𝟲𝟬 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 and 𝟭,𝟮𝟯𝟱 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 • 𝟭,𝟰𝟲𝟯 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱, with 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 nearly 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟮.𝟴 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 • 𝟴𝟭 𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 across the continent • 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮: 68 arrests, 835 devices seized, USD 450,000 in losses • 𝗖ô𝘁𝗲 𝗱’𝗜𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲: 24 arrests, 809 victims identified • 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹: 22 arrests, 120 victims, USD 34,000 in losses • 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗮: 8 arrests, 28 victims, fake IDs and forged documents seized 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩-𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙙 in Africa — preying on human emotion, trust, and vulnerability. Beyond financial loss, victims suffer deep psychological harm. As Cyril GOUT, Acting Executive Director of INTERPOL Police Services, stated: “The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims. By working closely with our member countries and private sector partners, we remain committed to dismantling these groups.” This coordinated success was made possible through support from Group-IB, Trend Micro, and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which funded the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime. It’s a powerful reminder that protecting people online isn’t just about technology, it’s about teamwork, trust, and a shared responsibility across public and private sectors. The Fraud Fellas About Fraud Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Ken Palla Erin West Anna Rowe Becky Holmes Dmitry Volkov Debbie Fox Follow The Fraud Fellas for the latest #FraudNews: https://lnkd.in/d67xSi_h #antifraud #cybersecurity #financialcrime #Interpol #lawenforcement #digitalfraud #RomanceFrauds #Fraud #FraudFellas #Afripol #FraudAwareness #DigitalTrust #ConsumerProtection #ScamPrevention #Advocacy #Awareness #Scams #ACFE

It wasn’t a new scam that caught my attention this week. It was the takedown of the network that made thousands of them possible. Operation SIMCARTEL may be one of the most significant cybercrime disruptions in recent months, even if it didn’t dominate the headlines. This wasn't chasing individual fraudsters one by one. It was dismantling the infrastructure that allows modern digital fraud to operate at scale. Law enforcement in Austria, Latvia and Estonia uncovered a network that sold anonymity and reach to criminals. They seized over 1,200 SIM boxes, 40,000 active SIM cards, servers, cryptocurrency wallets, bank accounts and high-value assets. The group had built a telecom infrastructure that could route calls and messages through numbers in more than 80 countries, allowing fraudsters to create almost fifty million fake accounts. Those accounts were used for every type of financial and digital crime imaginable. Investment and crypto scams, synthetic identities, impersonation, phishing, and account takeovers all relied on the same foundation. By enabling fake digital identities and bypassing SMS verification systems, the group made it easier for fraud to look legitimate. In Austria alone the network has been linked to more than 1,700 cases, and another 1,500 in Latvia. What makes SIMCARTEL important is the change in focus. Instead of targeting the end scam or the individual criminal, law enforcement went after the infrastructure behind the fraud. It’s the digital equivalent of closing the factory that produces the fake passports rather than arresting one person who uses them. For those of us working in compliance, risk and financial crime prevention, this operation reinforces an uncomfortable truth. Fraud no longer lives in silos. It crosses industries, technology platforms and jurisdictions. Criminals collaborate more effectively than most of the institutions trying to stop them. The real opportunity for prevention lies upstream, identifying and removing the shared infrastructure that allows these crimes to multiply. This is why collaboration between telecoms, banks and technology firms matters. We cannot protect customers or reputations if we only look at the symptoms. The real value comes from cutting off the supply chain that feeds large-scale fraud which can only be achieved through collaboration. Operation SIMCARTEL shows what happens when enforcement agencies take that wider view. They didn’t just stop a few scams. They took down the system that made thousands of them possible. #OperationSIMCARTEL #FraudPrevention #CyberSecurity #FinancialCrime #RiskManagement #DigitalTrust #Europol #OperationalResilience https://lnkd.in/e8ZRDS4t

"Caller ID spoofing now accounts for roughly 64% of reported fraud cases involving phone calls and text messages". "A growing wave of caller ID spoofing attacks, in which criminals falsify the number displayed on a phone to appear legitimate, has prompted Europol to call for urgent, coordinated action across Europe". "The agency’s new Position Paper on Caller ID Spoofing highlights that the practice underpins a wide range of online fraud schemes and social engineering scams, costing an estimated €850m ($990m) globally each year". #CallerIDSpoofing #GoToKnow #Spoofing #CFCA #SpoofingAttacks #SpoofingAsAService #Fraud #Scams #SocialEngineering https://lnkd.in/dRBFArkc

🚨 Europol issued urgent warnings about caller ID spoofing attacks after documenting a 230% increase in related fraud cases across EU member states in 2024. These sophisticated social engineering campaigns have generated over €127 million in financial losses, with individual victim losses averaging €8,400. 📞 Law enforcement data reveals spoofing attacks now comprise 34% of all reported phone-based fraud, with criminals impersonating banks, government agencies, and telecom providers. The attacks leverage Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to mask true caller origins, making attribution and prosecution significantly more challenging for authorities. 🔍 Technical analysis shows attackers combine spoofed caller IDs with stolen personal data from previous breaches, achieving success rates of 23% compared to 7% for traditional cold-calling scams. Victims aged 55-75 represent 68% of successful targets, with healthcare and financial services employees particularly vulnerable during business hours. 🛡️ Europol's cybercrime unit identified 47 organized criminal groups operating spoofing infrastructure across 12 countries, with call volumes exceeding 2.8 million attempted contacts monthly. The agency recommends implementing STIR/SHAKEN authentication protocols and enhanced caller verification procedures. The 340% surge in spoofing-related financial crime demonstrates why telecommunications security and user awareness training require immediate organizational priority. #ThreatIntelligence #SocialEngineering #CyberFraud #InfoSec #Europol #TelecomSecurity #CyberCrime #SecurityAwareness #FraudPrevention #DigitalSecurity source: https://lnkd.in/dRBFArkc

Romance scams are on the rise across Africa, with fraudsters using fake profiles and AI-generated identities to build trust online. Organizations can combat these threats by adopting advanced fraud detection tools, leveraging behavioural analysis and fostering cross-industry collaboration to share insights and strengthen defences. #scams #fraud #fraudprevention

Europol Dismantles SIM Farm Network Powering 49 Million Fake Accounts Worldwide Europol on Friday announced the disruption of a sophisticated cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) platform that operated a SIM farm and enabled its customers to carry out a broad spectrum of crimes ranging from phishing to investment fraud. The coordinated law enforcement effort, dubbed Operation SIMCARTEL, saw 26 searches carried out, resulting in the arrest of seven suspects and the seizure of 1,200 SIM box devices, which contained 40,000 active SIM cards. Five of those detained are Latvian nationals. https://lnkd.in/gHbzkCY9

Europol says caller ID spoofing is driving much of Europe’s phone and text fraud, estimating EUR 850 million in annual losses and calling for EU-wide technical standards, an international traceback system and aligned legal frameworks to improve cross-border investigations. https://lnkd.in/e6qxUeM9 #cybercrime #news #policy #risk #adfraud #bouyguestelecom #calleridspoofing #crossbordercooperation #europol #kyc #protecteu #smishing #stirshaken #traceback

🚨 Cybercrime Service Takedown: 7 Arrested | Operation “SIMCARTEL” An action day in Latvia on 10 October 2025 led to the arrest of five Latvian cybercriminals and the seizure of major infrastructure used for cyber-enabled crimes impacting thousands of victims across Europe. Coordinated efforts by law enforcement agencies from Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Europol, and Eurojust resulted in the dismantling of a large-scale criminal network responsible for: More Deatail :- https://lnkd.in/g_W8VQ6G 🔸 1,700+ fraud cases in Austria 🔸1,500+ fraud cases in Latvia 🔸Total losses of several million euros - EUR 4.5 million in Austria - EUR 420,000 in Latvia ➤Results of the Action Day 🔹26 searches carried out 🔹7 individuals arrested 🔹Approximately 1,200 SIM-box devices operating 40,000 SIM cards seized 🔹Hundreds of thousands of additional SIM cards confiscated 🔹5 servers hosting illegal infrastructure taken down 🔹2 websites (gogetsms.com and apisim.com) seized by law enforcement and replaced with official notices 🔹EUR 431,000 frozen in bank accounts 🔹USD 333,000 frozen in crypto assets 🔹4 luxury vehicles seized ➤Criminal Activities Enabled by the Network 🔸Fraud on online second-hand marketplaces – Fake accounts created using SIM cards for phishing and smishing scams 🔸Daughter–Son WhatsApp Scam – Impersonating family members to demand urgent money transfers 🔸Investment Fraud – Remote-access scams convincing victims to “invest” large sums 🔸Fake Shops and Banking Websites – SIM-rented numbers used in fraudulent contact info and verification calls 🔸Fake Police Officer Scam – Perpetrators posing as police with forged IDs, targeting Russian-speaking victims ➤Crimes Facilitated • Fraud • Extortion • Migrant smuggling • Distribution of child sexual abuse material Another major step by international authorities to combat organized cybercrime. Collaboration between nations continues to be the strongest weapon in dismantling cross-border digital threats. #CyberSecurity #Europol #Cybercrime #DigitalSafety #SIMCARTEL #CyberFraud #LawEnforcement #InfoSec

An interesting collaboration between law enforcement and a NFP to take down an impressive cyber crime network with over 40,000 active sim cards involved in over 3000 individual fraud cases across Europe. https://lnkd.in/gV4cKhZD

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, making it the perfect time to review how to protect your personal information. As a financial advisor, here’s some key info and tips I suggest internalizing and making habit: 🔒 Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft — What You Need to Know 🚫 How identity thieves get your info: • Going through your trash — always shred sensitive documents • Skimming devices at gas stations or ATMs — tap to pay is safer • Phishing emails or texts — don’t click on unknown links • Stealing mail, wallets, or even data from employers ⚠️ Warning signs to watch for: • Unfamiliar accounts or credit checks on your credit report • Missing bills or mail • Strange charges or withdrawals 🛠️ What to do if your identity is stolen: • Call your bank and credit card companies immediately • Place a fraud alert or credit freeze with the credit bureaus • File a police report and report it to the FTC at 877.IDTHEFT ✅ How to stay safe: • Secure your Social Security card and sensitive info at home • Shred old bills and documents • Don’t click links from unknown emails or texts • Review your credit report at least once a year • Consider credit monitoring services #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth #IdentityTheft #ProtectYourInfo #FraudPrevention #CyberSecurity #FinancialWellness #ProtectYourData #FraudPrevention Video link to use: https://lnkd.in/ejSf_UGQ