Security News > 2021 > November > Interpol Arrests Over 1,000 Cyber Criminals From 20 Countries; Seizes $27 Million

A joint four-month operation coordinated by Interpol, the international criminal police organization, has culminated in the arrests of more than 1,000 cybercriminals and the recovery of $27 million in illicit proceeds.

Codenamed "HAECHI-II," the crackdown enabled law enforcement units from across 20 countries, as well as Hong Kong and Macao, close 1,660 cases alongside blocking 2,350 bank accounts linked to the fraudulent illicit funds amassed from a range of online financial crimes, such as romance scams, investment fraud, and money laundering associated with illegal online gambling.

In one instance of a sophisticated business email compromise scam, the criminals impersonated the legal representative of an unnamed Colombian textiles company to illegally authorize the transfer of more than $16 million to two Chinese bank accounts.

The firm alerted the authorities but not after finding itself defrauded of more than $8 million.

What's more, in yet another example of how threat actors quickly seize on popular trends for opportunistic exploitation, Interpol also said it uncovered a malware campaign that leveraged the hit South Korean Netflix show Squid Game to distribute a trojan that subscribed victims to paid premium services without their explicit approval.

The investigation, which involved a subset of the aforementioned countries, saw 585 individuals apprehended and more than 1,600 bank accounts around the world frozen, while also intercepting $83 million in illicit funds transferred from victims to the perpetrators.

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https://thehackernews.com/2021/11/interpol-arrests-over-1000-cyber.html