Europol
Police dismantles crypto fraud ring linked to €100 million in losses
Law enforcement authorities in Europe have arrested five suspects linked to a cryptocurrency investment fraud ring that stole over €100 million ($118 million) from more than 100 victims. The joint operation started in September 2020 and was carried out by investigative teams from Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania, coordinated by Eurojust and supported […]
Europol confirms $50,000 Qilin ransomware reward is fake
Europol has confirmed that a Telegram channel impersonating the agency and offering a $50,000 reward for information on two Qilin ransomware administrators is fake. The impostor later admitted it was created to troll researchers and journalists. “We were also surprised to see this story gaining traction,” Europol told GeekFeed on Monday. “The announcement didn’t come […]
New Phobos and 8base ransomware decryptor recover files for free
The Japanese police have released a Phobos and 8-Base ransomware decryptor that lets victims recover their files for free, with GeekFeed confirming that it successfully decrypts files. Phobos is a ransomware-as-a-service operation that launched in December 2018, enabling other threat actors to join as affiliates and utilize their encryption tool in attacks. In exchange, any […]
Europol helps disrupt $540 million crypto investment fraud ring
Spanish authorities have arrested five individuals in Madrid and the Canary Islands, suspected of laundering $540 million (€460 million) from illegal cryptocurrency investment schemes and defrauding more than 5,000 victims. The law enforcement operation was supported and coordinated by Europol and investigators from Estonia, France, and the U.S. (Homeland Security Investigations – HSI). The investigation into […]
Police arrests 20 suspects for distributing child sexual abuse content
Law enforcement authorities from over a dozen countries have arrested 20 suspects in an international operation targeting the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Starting in late 2024, the Spanish National Police discovered multiple instant messaging groups dedicated to the circulation of child sexual exploitation images and alerted authorities in other countries through […]
Police arrests 270 dark web vendors, buyers in global crackdown
Police arrested 270 suspects following an international law enforcement action codenamed ‘Operation RapTor’ that targeted dark web vendors and customers from ten countries. National authorities in Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States have also seized over €184 million ($207M) in cash and cryptocurrency, more than 2 tonnes of drugs (including amphetamines, cocaine, ketamine, […]
Police takes down six DDoS-for-hire services, arrests admins
Polish authorities have detained four suspects linked to six DDoS-for-hire platforms, believed to have facilitated thousands of attacks targeting schools, government services, businesses, and gaming platforms worldwide since 2022. Such platforms are often marketed as legitimate testing tools on the dark web and hacking forums, but are mainly used to disrupt online services, servers, and websites by […]
Police detains Smokeloader malware customers, seizes servers
In follow-up activity for Operation Endgame, law enforcement tracked down Smokeloader botnet’s customers and detained at least five individuals. During Operation Endgame last year, more than 100 servers used by major malware loader operations (e.g. IcedID, Pikabot, Trickbot, Bumblebee, Smokeloader, SystemBC) were seized. In a press release today, Europol informs that the operation continues as law enforcement […]
Police shuts down KidFlix child sexual exploitation platform
Kidflix, one of the largest platforms used to host, share, and stream child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the dark web, was shut down on March 11 following a joint action coordinated by German law enforcement. Dubbed Operation Stream, this joint international investigation is led by the State Criminal Police of Bavaria (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt) and the […]
US seizes domain of Garantex crypto exchange used by ransomware gangs
The U.S. Secret Service has seized the domain of the sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the FBI, and Europol. Other law enforcement authorities involved in this action include the Dutch National Police, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office, the Estonian National […]