Security News > 2022 > September > Interpol dismantles sextortion ring, warns of increased attacks
A transnational sextortion ring was uncovered and dismantled following a joint investigation between Interpol's cybercrime division and police in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Sextortion is a type of digital extortion where the criminals coerce or trick their targets into sharing explicit videos or images that will later be used for blackmail.
Scammers behind sextortion campaigns are also known to distribute various strains of malware via phishing emails, ranging from data-stealing trojans to ransomware.
Today's announcement comes after Interpol launched an awareness campaign in June to warn Internet users of a striking increase in digital extortion threats like sextortion, ransomware, and Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks.
"A sharp rise in sextortion reports has been observed around the world in recent years, mirroring a rise in other types of cybercrime that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," Interpol said.
The FBI warned one year ago of a massive increase in sextortion complaints since the start of 2021, which resulted in total financial losses of more than $8 million until the end of July 2021.