Europol publishes IOCTA spotlight report on online fraud schemes

Europol’s spotlight report on online fraud highlights that online fraud schemes represent a major crime threat in the EU and beyond as online fraudsters generate multiple billions in illicit profits every year to the detriment of individuals, companies and public Read More …

Europol warning on the criminal use of Bluetooth trackers for geolocalisation

For the past several years, Europol has been observing a growing crime phenomenon: the use of Bluetooth trackers in organised crime. Bluetooth trackers are small devices designed to help people find personal objects, such as keys and bags, as well Read More …

Europol and Eurojust support Czech and Ukrainian police in taking down multi-million euro voice phishing gang

The Czech and Ukrainian police have disrupted, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, a prolific phishing gang believed to have defrauded victims across Europe of tens of millions of euros. In Czechia alone, the damage caused by this criminal Read More …

Sheffield Hallam cryptocurrency investigation game wins European Commission Award

A first-of-its kind cryptocurrency-tracing training game co-created by Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research (CENTRIC) has won a prestigious European Commission Award. Cryptopol was developed and co-created by researchers in CENTRIC and Read More …

DoppelPaymer ransomware group suspects identified

The German police in cooperation with the US Secret Service have executed search warrants against suspected members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware group in Germany and Ukraine. In March of 2023 the German Regional Police and the Ukrainian National Police, with Read More …

Cyber-attacks: the apex of crime-as-a-service (IOCTA 2023)

The Spotlight Report ‘Cyber-attacks: the apex of crime-as-a-service’, examines the developments in cyber-attacks, discussing new methodologies and threats as observed by Europol’s operational analysts. It also outlines the types of criminal structures that are behind cyber-attacks, and how these increasingly Read More …

5 arrested in Poland for running bulletproof hosting service for cybercrime gangs

This week, the Polish Central Cybercrime Bureau (Centralne Biuro Zwalczania Cyberprzestępczości) under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice (Prokuratura Regionalna w Katowicach) took action against LolekHosted.net, a bulletproof hosting service used by criminals to launch cyber-attacks across Read More …

IOCTA 2023: forget hackers in a hoodie, cybercrime has become a big business

Forget the cliché of a solitary figure in a hoodie hunched over a keyboard in a dark room crunching lines of codes. It is an image that no longer accurately reflects today’s cybercrime landscape, where criminals operate as business-like syndicates Read More …

Decade Old DDoS-for-Hire Service Taken Down, Administrators Arrested

Polish authorities took down a DDoS-for-hire service that’s been around for a decade following an investigation with support of the FBI, Europol and law enforcement agencies from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. DDoS attacks are always a nuisance, but they Read More …

Balkans’ biggest drug lords arrested after investigation into encrypted phones

On 11 May, coordinated raids were carried out in Serbia and the Netherlands, targeting both the cartel’s leadership and distribution infrastructure. Seven other members of this criminal organisation were already arrested in Belgium in 2021. Two individuals were previously arrested Read More …