25 Jul, 2026

Dutch police bust investment fraud ring stealing over €100 million

The Dutch Police announced the arrest of multiple individuals suspected of being part of an international investment fraud scheme estimated to have tens of thousands of victims. The group is believed to have operated 20 call centers, with more than 700 people posing as financial advisers. Authorities estimate that the criminal organization at one point […]

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Police suspects Dutch hackers were involved in Odido breach

The Dutch National Police (Politie) says it has found “strong indications” that Dutch hackers have been involved in a February breach at the telecommunications provider Odido. “This includes a telephone conversation that was made with Odido customer service shortly before the hack. In this conversation, a Dutch-speaking man posed as Odido’s IT employee. The company […]

3 mins read

Police seize “First VPN” service used in ransomware, data theft attacks

A virtual private network service called ‘First VPN,’ used in ransomware and data theft attacks, has been taken offline in a joint international law enforcement operation. Authorities have seized dozens of First VPN servers located in 27 countries, arrested the administrator, and conducted a house search in Ukraine. The VPN service was advertised on various […]

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Dutch Police discloses security breach after phishing attack

The Dutch National Police (Politie) says a security breach resulting from a successful phishing attack has had a limited impact and hasn’t affected citizens’ data. It also stated that the incident is still under investigation by the agency’s security experts and that the attackers’ access to compromised systems has been blocked. “The police have been […]

2 mins read

Man arrested for demanding reward after accidental police data leak

Dutch authorities arrested a 40-year-old man after he downloaded confidential documents that had been mistakenly shared by the police and refused to delete them unless he received “something in return.” Police detained the suspect at his Prinses Beatrixstraat residence in Ridderkerk on Thursday evening for computer hacking after the failed extortion attempt, searching his home and seizing […]

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Police arrest seller of JokerOTP MFA passcode capturing tool

The Netherlands Police have arrested a a 21-year-old man from Dordrecht, suspected of selling access to the JokerOTP phishing automation tool that can intercept one-time passwords (OTP) for hijacking accounts. The suspect is the third one arrested after authorities after a three-year investigation that led to dismantling the JokerOTP phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) operation in April 2025. At the […]

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Dutch police seizes 250 servers used by “bulletproof hosting” service

The police in the Netherlands have seized around 250 physical servers powering a bulletproof hosting service in the country used exclusively by cybercriminals for providing complete anonymity. Politie, the police force in the Netherlands, did not name the service but said that it has been used for illicit activities since 2022, and has emerged in more than […]

3 mins read

Police seize VerifTools fake ID marketplace servers, domains

The FBI and the Dutch Police have shut down the VerifTools marketplace for fraudulent identity documents after seizing servers in Amsterdam that hosted the online operation. VerifTools was a prominent platform that produced and intermediated the purchase of fake documents (e.g. driver’s licenses, passports) that were used to bypass various identity verification systems or to assume an […]

2 mins read

Russian Laundry Bear cyberspies linked to Dutch Police hack

​A previously unknown Russian-backed cyberespionage group tracked as Laundry Bear has been linked to a September 2024 Dutch police security breach. As the Dutch national police (Politie) revealed last year, the attackers stole work-related contact information of multiple officers, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and, in some cases, private details. The Netherlands General Intelligence and […]

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Dutch Police seizes 127 XHost servers, dismantles bulletproof hoster

The Dutch Police (Politie) dismantled the ZServers/XHost bulletproof hosting operation after taking offline 127 servers used by the illegal platform. Earlier this week, the authorities in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, announced sanctions against the same bulletproof hosting provider for its involvement in cybercrime operations. Specifically, the operators of Zservers were accused of facilitating LockBit ransomware […]

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