European Police Disrupt Phone Phishing Gang with Arrests

Police have disrupted a multimillion-dollar, pan-European phishing operation after making several arrests in Belgium and the Netherlands, according to Europol.

The operation dates back to 2022, when Belgian police – supported by Europol and EU criminal justice agency Eurojust – conducted their first investigations. They were joined the following year by their Dutch colleagues, and a few months later an operational task force was created.

While most of the perpetrators are thought to have operated from the Netherlands, their victims resided in next-door Belgium and across the region.

Europol claimed that the group not only tricked victims via phone-based phishing, but also impersonated banking officials and police in doorstep attacks targeting the elderly. They then spent the proceeds of these crimes on luxury watches, jewelry and designer clothes.

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Victims in at least 10 European countries were tricked out of millions of euros in this way, Europol claimed.

A total of eight suspects were arrested, four in Belgium and four in the Netherlands, and 17 locations were searched, yielding seizures of electronic devices, luxury watches, jewelry, “large amounts” of money and a firearm.

Europol urged citizens to:

• Never trust banking correspondence that requires an ‘urgent’ response
• Never trust messages claiming phone accounts are locked and need updating
• Only visit “https” sites
• Take care when buying goods from second-hand sites where the seller asks for an initial payment of €0.001
• Install anti-malware software on all devices
• Ensure all devices are up to date
• Set strong and unique passwords for all online accounts
• Never click on links, open attachments or share financial information with senders of unsolicited messages

In a sign of the growing popularity of phone-based phishing, Zimperium research from September revealed that 82% of all phishing sites now target mobile devices – with healthcare affected particularly badly.

Interpol Urges Users to Think Twice

In related news, Interpol last week launched a new “Think Twice” campaign designed to educate consumers about cyber-enabled financial crimes.

Featuring a series of short videos, the campaign tackles five major threat types: ransomware attacks, malware, phishing, generative AI scams and romance baiting.

The campaign will hit social media over the next two weeks.

“As the digital landscape continues to evolve, we see online fraud and scams growing in sophistication and scale, posing a threat to individuals and organizations alike,” argued Interpol secretary general, Valdecy Urquiza.

“Cybersecurity is a joint responsibility and through proactive steps, we can help build a more secure, and safer, digital world for everyone.”