More Than 100 Cybercriminals Caught by Europol

 The good guys recently scored a win when Europol shut down an Italian Mafia criminal gang involved in online fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and property crime.

What Happened?

In a statement posted yesterday by Europol, the agency said, “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 facilitated the information exchange, the operational coordination and provided analytical support for this investigation, which lasted over a year. During the operational activities, Europol deployed two analysts and one forensic expert to Tenerife, Spain, and one analyst to Italy. Additionally, Europol funded the deployment of three Italian investigators to Tenerife to support the Spanish authorities during the action day. The Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) at Europol supported the operation. This standing operational team consists of cyber liaison officers from different countries who work from the same office on high profile cybercrime investigations.”

The takedown was a joint effort between Spain and Italy’s law enforcement agencies. The group operated out of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.

The Hacker News explains the extent of the sting “The development comes following a year-long sting operation that saw as many as 16 house searches, resulting in 106 arrests — mostly in Spain and Italy — and seizure of electronic devices, 224 credit cards, SIM cards, point-of-sale terminals, a marijuana plantation, and equipment used for its cultivation and distribution. 118 bank accounts have also been frozen as a result of the bust.”

The criminal operation was structured pyramid-style with specialized operatives in positions like computer hacking and cryptocurrency experts. The cybercriminals set up malicious servers, waged phishing campaigns, and executed other instances of online fraud. They even hired recruiters to help fill other positions for money laundering.

In just a year, the group stole more than €10 million ($11.7 million) by tricking their victims into transferring funds into bank accounts owned by the cartel. “The illicitly acquired profits were then laundered through a wide network of money mules and shell companies,” Data Breach Today adds.

“The investigation was undertaken jointly by the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) and supported by the Italian National Police (Polizia di Stato), Europol, and Eurojust.”

Organized Crime Breaks into the Cyber Arena

Cybercrime used to be dominated by individual hackers with cool-sounding names. The loner persona certainly fits the crimes well. Sometimes these lone wolves would take responsibility for their accomplishments and wear them like a badge of honor. If caught they were often asked to work for government agencies in exchange for a lesser sentence. However, the landscape of cybercrime has changed dramatically.

In recent years organized crime gangs have replaced the lone hacker with incredibly effective groups waging massive attacks in various arenas netting huge profits. Some of these hacker gangs are state-sponsored, and many attacks on U.S. agencies are reported to have come from crime groups in China and Russia.

Along with this change comes a level of sophistication, making detection and remediation much more difficult. Moreover, organized crime is backed by big money and powerful resources, meaning they can hire the most skilled programmers and hackers, making it very difficult to apprehend them for their crimes. That is why this Europol takedown is such a big win.

Even though this particular syndicate has been dealt a blow, no doubt another will resurface in its place.

Who is Europol?

According to their statement for the press, “Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Europol supports the 27 EU Member States in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime, and other serious and organised crime forms. Europol also works with many non-EU partner states and international organisations. From its various threat assessments to its intelligence-gathering and operational activities, Europol has the tools and resources it needs to do its part in making Europe safer.”