Europol: 7 arrested in Cybercrime-as-a-Service takedown


An action day performed in Latvia on 10 October 2025 led to the arrest of five cybercriminals of Latvian nationality and the seizure of infrastructure used to enable crimes against thousands of victims across Europe.

During the operation codenamed ‘SIMCARTEL’, law enforcement arrested two further suspects, took down five servers and seized 1 200 SIM box devices alongside 40 000 active SIM cards. Investigators from Austria, Estonia and Latvia, together with their colleagues at Europol und Eurojust, were able to attribute to the criminal network more than 1 700 individual cyber fraud cases in Austria and 1 500 in Latvia, with a total loss of several million euros. The financial loss in Austria alone amounts to around EUR 4.5 million, as well as EUR 420 000 in Latvia.

Read more…
Source: Europol


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Ireland: Loss of papers and devices among the Department of Justice’s 482 data breaches

    December 15, 2024

    The Department of Justice has recorded more than 480 data breaches over the past three years, including the loss of sensitive papers, encrypted devices, and unauthorised access to social media. The breaches occurred across the department including key areas such as international protection, the response to the Ukraine refugee crisis, and in citizenship applications. A log ...

  • Europol: Law enforcement shuts down 27 DDoS booters ahead of annual Christmas attacks

    December 11, 2024

    Law enforcement agencies worldwide have disrupted a holiday tradition for cybercriminals: launching Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks to take websites offline. As part of an ongoing international crackdown known as PowerOFF, authorities have seized 27 of the most popular platforms used to carry out these attacks. Known as ‘booter’ and ‘stresser’ websites, these platforms enabled cybercriminals and hacktivists ...

  • Russia: Call center scheme that deceived hundreds from over 20 countries exposed in Moscow

    December 11, 2024

    Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), in collaboration with the Russian Interior Ministry, has exposed three Moscow-based illegal call centers that affected hundreds of citizens from more than 20 European and Asian countries, the FSB reported. “The unlawful activities of an organized crime syndicate that controlled the operation of three call centers in Moscow have been disrupted,” ...

  • Romanian energy supplier struck by ransomware attack

    December 10, 2024

    Romanian energy supplier Electrica Group has confirmed suffering a cyberattack in the latest incident to hit major institutions in the country. In a press announcement, the company said it was investigating an “ongoing cyberattack” together with the local law enforcement. The company did not detail the attack, its nature, goal, or the identity of the threat ...

  • EU Cyber Resilience Act: What You Need to Know

    December 10, 2024

    The E.U. Cyber Resilience Act was enacted on Dec. 10. This legislation impacts all manufacturers, distributors, and tech importers that connect to other devices or networks operating in the bloc. Examples of applicable products include smart doorbells, baby monitors, alarm systems, routers, mobile apps, speakers, toys, and fitness trackers. Those that comply with the legislation will ...

  • Encrypted messaging service intercepted, 2.3 million messages read by law enforcement

    December 9, 2024

    European law enforcement agencies have taken down yet another encrypted messaging service mainly used by criminals. The Matrix encrypted messaging service was an invite-only service which was also marketed under the names Mactrix, Totalsec, X-quantum, or Q-safe. Dutch and French authorities started an investigation when the service was found on the phone of a criminal convicted ...