Security News > 2021 > September > Europol Busts Major Crime Ring, Arrests Over 100 Online Fraudsters
Law enforcement agencies in Italy and Spain have dismantled an organized crime group linked to the Italian Mafia that was involved in online fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and property crime, netting the gang about €10 million in illegal proceeds in just a year.
"The suspects defrauded hundreds of victims through phishing attacks and other types of online fraud such as SIM swapping and business email compromise before laundering the money through a wide network of money mules and shell companies," Europol said in a statement published today.
The criminal network is said to have been fashioned as a pyramid structure, with different members roped in for specialized roles, including computer experts, who created phishing domains and facilitated cyber fraud, as well as recruiters who were involved in money muling activities, and specialists adept in cryptocurrencies and money laundering.
The arrested members, a majority of whom are Italian nationals with links to mafia cartels, lured their victims into transferring large amounts of money to bank accounts under their control.
The illicitly acquired profits were then laundered through a wide network of money mules and shell companies.
The investigation was undertaken jointly by the Spanish National Police, and supported by the Italian National Police, Europol, and Eurojust.