A total of 310 fraudulent bank accounts were disabled and $ 153,973,709 were intercepted.
Interpol announced the completion of a year-long operation, codenamed First Light, in which law enforcement officers investigated cases of network and telephone fraud. In total, law enforcement officials arrested 21,549 operators, fraudsters and money launderers, disabled 310 bank accounts and intercepted illegal money transactions worth $ 153,973,709.
35 countries around the world were involved in coordinated efforts to suppress organized crime groups involved in various types of fraud in the field of telecommunications and social engineering. Governments exchanged information, analysis of intelligence data obtained during the operation, in order to identify suspects and conduct investigative actions.
Other types of fraud identified during the operation include BEC (business email compromise) attacks, love scams and smishing (a type of phishing carried out via SMS messages).
In Singapore, police arrested a man who provided false Interpol credentials while escorting an elderly woman to a bank to withdraw funds. Further investigation revealed that the man himself was the victim of scammers who called him posing as Chinese law enforcement officers, provided him with a fake ID, and ordered him to collect the elderly woman's money.
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Interpol announced the completion of a year-long operation, codenamed First Light, in which law enforcement officers investigated cases of network and telephone fraud. In total, law enforcement officials arrested 21,549 operators, fraudsters and money launderers, disabled 310 bank accounts and intercepted illegal money transactions worth $ 153,973,709.
35 countries around the world were involved in coordinated efforts to suppress organized crime groups involved in various types of fraud in the field of telecommunications and social engineering. Governments exchanged information, analysis of intelligence data obtained during the operation, in order to identify suspects and conduct investigative actions.
Other types of fraud identified during the operation include BEC (business email compromise) attacks, love scams and smishing (a type of phishing carried out via SMS messages).
In Singapore, police arrested a man who provided false Interpol credentials while escorting an elderly woman to a bank to withdraw funds. Further investigation revealed that the man himself was the victim of scammers who called him posing as Chinese law enforcement officers, provided him with a fake ID, and ordered him to collect the elderly woman's money.
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