With Operation First Light 2024, Interpol arrested nearly 4,000 cybercriminals and seized $257 million in assets in no fewer than 61 countries. A vast dragnet which took down a vast network of online scams.
In a special operation called First Light 2024, which spanned several months and carried out jointly by law enforcement agencies from 61 countries, Interpol dealt a heavy blow to cybercriminals! From phishing to romance scams, including fake merchant sites and identity theft, a real criminal ecosystem has been dismantled. As the international organization explains in a statement, nearly 4,000 people were arrested and 14,643 others were identified. Authorities also froze 6,745 bank accounts and seized as much as $257 million. Among the loot are $135 million in cash, $2 million in cryptocurrencies, and even real estate, luxury cars, high-value jewelry, and many other expensive items and collections.
Operation First Light: 4,000 arrests and $257 million seized in 61 countries
Operation First Light 2024 began in 2023 and ended with its final tactical phase from March to May 2024. The dismantled network used a wide range of online scams, including investment fraud, fake shopping sites, phishing, identity theft and romance scams. Investigators noted that the scams were becoming increasingly sophisticated.
This international police operation represents “lives protected, crimes prevented and a healthier global economy”, said Isaac Kehinde Oginni, director of IFCACC, Interpol’s center specializing in financial crimes and the fight against corruption. Thus, in Namibia, the police rescued 88 young people forced to commit fraud and seized 163 computers and 350 mobile phones. Similarly, in another case, Australian authorities managed to recover A$5.5 million on behalf of a victim of an identity theft scam. Many people were able to recover their stolen funds. “By confiscating such large sums of money and disrupting the networks behind it, we are not only protecting our communities, but we are also dealing a severe blow to the transnational organized crime groups who pose such a serious threat to global security”rejoices Isaac Kehinde Oginni.
Operation First Light 2024 is a continuation of Interpol’s efforts to combat cybercrime. In 2023, the international organization, Europol and the FBI managed to dismantle Genesis Market, one of the largest cybercriminal platforms on the Dark Web, where hackers sold identifiers and sensitive data of millions of victims (see our article). In total, this led to 119 arrests in no fewer than 17 countries. But these victories have not prevented the return of major cybercriminal gangs in recent months, such as LockBit and Lapsus$, as well as an increase in cyberattacks. With the Olympic Games, France is particularly exposed at the moment and must deal with an increasing number of hacks and scams. It is therefore important to remain vigilant in all circumstances!