Authorities Bust Large European Cybercrime Operation

Europol reported that a large cybercriminal gang that has been running a very profitable and equally illegal criminal operation for years has now been busted. The operation was carried out primarily by Italian and Spanish police, who arrested nearly 20 people residing primarily on the Spanish autonomous territory of the Canary Islands.

The cybercriminal gang had alleged ties to the Italian mafia and engaged in various forms of online fraud and scams, primarily focused on phishing and vishing. The criminals used various tools and social engineering techniques to obtain the personal banking details primarily of Italian citizens, but their victims also included residents of several other European countries, including England, Germany and Ireland.

According to the police reports, there were over a hundred and fifty people involved in the full operation. The crime ring stole significant amounts of money from its victims, with thousands of Euros transferred from many accounts.

The money was later made untraceable, with the criminals dumping it into cryptocurrency or even funding their other criminal operations outside of the world of computers.

According to the police, some of the money went for drug production and weapon trafficking, also conducted by the same organization. The criminals managed to rake in an impressive $12 million just over the course of 2020.

What makes this group interesting is that according to police, the members were highly organized and included people from all walks of life, not just hackers but also people working in financial institutions and businesses. This allowed them greater flexibility and connections to abuse when laundering the stolen money.

The police also reports that the group was not afraid to resort to real-life violence and classic mafia intimidation tactics.

The bust was carried out with the help of a forensic expert and two analysts who assisted the police on location.