Security News > 2023 > December > Philippines, South Korea, Interpol cuff 3,500 suspected cyber scammers, seize $300M

Interpol on Tuesday revealed the results of what it's dubbed Operation HAECHI IV - a six-month effort that saw 34 nations cooperate, with funding from South Korea.

The majority - about three quarters - of the crime investigated by the op was business email compromise, e-commerce fraud, and investment fraud.

Interpol issued two "Purple Notices" - bulletins providing information on the modus operandi, objects, devices, and concealment methods used by criminals - as a result of the operation.

Interpol singled out Filipino and Korean authorities for their joint efforts that led to the arrest of "a high-profile online gambling criminal" in the Philippines capital Manila, after a two-year tracking effort by Korea's National Police Agency.

Alleged crims detected by the operation were often hit with I-GRIP - the Interpol Global Rapid Intervention of Payments mechanism - which stops payments so that criminal proceeds can't flow through the world's financial system.

Interpol has hailed the operation as a win, because it resulted in a 200 percent increase in arrests compared to previous efforts.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/12/20/interpol_haechi_iv/