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Source: Europol
Known as ‘booter’ and ‘stresser’ websites, these platforms enabled cybercriminals and hacktivists to flood targets with illegal traffic, rendering websites and other web-based services inaccessible.This multifaceted operation, coordinated by Europol and involving 15 countries, targeted all levels of those engaged in this crime. Three administrators behind these illicit platforms were arrested, and several actions were taken against numerous users of…
Source: Europol
They have taken lives, let’s take them down.The European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST), supported by Europol, maintains the EU Most Wanted website to seek help finding fugitives across Europe. Over 20 criminals have just been added and this year’s catchphrase “blood on their hands” seeks to increase public awareness about dangerous fugitives wanted for serious crimes such…
Source: Europol
This workstream will focus on professional enablers, such as lawyers, real estate brokers, and accountants who help, knowingly or not, to move illicit funds into legitimate systems. The workstream will begin operating in 2025, based on insights shared by expert speakers during the event.A highlight of the plenary was Wim Mijs, CEO of the European Banking Federation, meeting Europol’s Executive…
Source: Europol
Although most of the criminal activities took place in Belgium, the main perpetrators mostly operated from the Netherlands. Besides committing large-scale ‘phishing’ campaigns and trying to gain access to financial data by phone or online, the suspects also pretended to be police or banking staff and approached older victims at their doors.After committing their criminal activities, the suspects spent all…
Source: Europol
On 4 December 2024, an operation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from France and Germany, coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, targeted a large criminal network involved in migrant smuggling activities across the English Channel. The French-led investigation focused on an Iraqi-Kurdish network suspected of illegally smuggling middle-Eastern and East African migrants from France to the United Kingdom using non-EU…
Source: Europol
The investigation began in the autumn of 2022, following reports of fraudulent phone calls in which scammers impersonated bank employees to extract sensitive information, such as addresses and security answers, from victims. The stolen data was traced back to a specialised online marketplace that operated as a central hub for the trade of illegally obtained information.A central hub for cyber…
Source: Europol
The signatures of these two legal instruments put into practice the Working Arrangement between Chile and Europol, which is in force since 1 May 2021. The SIENA Memorandum of Understanding will allow Chile to establish a connection with the Agency, permitting a secure exchange of sensitive information. A SIENA connection would enable law enforcement authorities from Chile to be connected…
Source: Europol
MATRIX, a messaging service made by criminals for criminals, was first discovered by Dutch authorities on the phone of a criminal convicted for the murder of a Dutch journalist in 2021. A large-scale investigation into the messaging service was initiated. It was soon clear that the infrastructure of this platform was technically more complex than previous platforms such as Sky…
Source: Europol
In a long-term investigation supported by Europol, law enforcement authorities from Belgium, Colombia and Spain have dismantled a drug ring orchestrating large-scale cocaine trafficking from Colombia to the EU. The national authorities involved arrested 32 individuals in total, including the leader of the network. Law enforcement also seized 5.8 tonnes of cocaine in Colombia (Cartagena and Baranquilla) and on European…
Source: Europol
The investigation focused on several interlinked criminal groups that were smuggling migrants from the Indian sub-continent (India, Sri Lanka and Nepal) to Europe, the United Kingdom and North America. The smugglers facilitated migrants’ travel to the EU via Dubai or different African countries using unlawfully obtained tourist, work or medical visas. Migrants would be charged between EUR 15 000 and…