December 19, 2023 at 02:13PM
‘Operation HAECHI IV’ led to the arrest of 3,500 suspects for lower-tier cybercrimes, seizing $300 million in illicit proceeds. South Korea led the operation with 34 countries’ support. The operation targeted various cybercrimes, froze 82,112 bank accounts, and seized $199 million in hard currency and $101 million in digital assets. Interpol flagged the threat posed by transnational organized crime.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes:
– Operation HAECHI IV resulted in the arrest of 3,500 suspects for various lower-tier cybercrimes and the seizure of $300 million in illicit proceeds. The operation was led by South Korean authorities and involved 34 countries, including the US, UK, Japan, China (Hong Kong), and India.
– The operation targeted threat actors engaged in voice phishing, romance scams, online sextortion, investment fraud, money laundering associated with illegal online gambling, business email compromise, and e-commerce fraud.
– Interpol’s financial intelligence mechanism, I-GRIP, flagged and froze 82,112 bank accounts in 34 countries linked to cybercrimes and fraudulent operations.
– $199 million in seized amounts was hard currency, while $101 million corresponded to the value of 367 digital/virtual assets, such as NFTs linked to cybercrime.
– Stephen Kavanagh of Interpol emphasized that the seized amount illustrated the incentive behind the explosive growth of transnational organized crime, posing a serious threat to global security and economic stability.
– The arrest of an online gambling criminal in Manila, sought by Korean police for over two years, was highlighted as a significant development.
– Emerging trends from HAECHI arrests included digital investment frauds, NFT investment platform scams, the use of AI and deep fake tools for impersonation and investment fraud, and the use of AI technology by cybercriminals.
– HAECHI IV saw a 260% increase in arrests compared to HAECHI III, which occurred between June and November 2022, resulting in the arrest of 975 suspects and freezing of $130,000,000.
These succinct takeaways summarize the main points and outcomes from the meeting notes.