European police in coordinated attack on online fraudsters
An organised crime group involved in online fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking and property crime has been dismantled by Europol, Eurojust together with Spanish and Italian national police, the EU Commission announced. The organized crime group is linked to the Italian Mafia and its illegal profit is estimated to have been about €10 million last year, the Commission said.
“The suspects defrauded hundreds of victims through phishing attacks and other types of online fraud such as SMS swapping and business email compromise before laundering the money through a wide network of money mules and shell companies.”
- 106 have been arrested, mostly in Spain and some in Italy
- 16 house have been searched
- 118 bank accounts have been frozen
- Seizures include many electronic devices, 224 credit cards, SIM cards and point-of-sale terminals, a marihuana plantation and equipment for its cultivation and distribution.
The Commission said the group had computer experts, who created the phishing domains and carried out the cyber fraud; recruiters and organisers of the money muling; and money laundering experts, including experts in cryptocurrencies.
“Most of the suspected members are Italian nationals, some of whom have links to mafia organisations. Located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), the suspects tricked their victims, mainly Italian nationals, into sending large sums to bank accounts controlled by the criminal network. They then laundered the criminal proceeds 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. The Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) at Europol supported the operation.
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