Europol Busts Phishing Gang Responsible for Millions in Losses

Europol on Tuesday announced the dismantling of an organized
crime group that dabbled in phishing, fraud, scams, and money
laundering activities.

The cross-border operation, which involved law enforcement
authorities from Belgium and the Netherlands, saw the arrests of
nine individuals in the Dutch nation.

The suspects are men between the ages of 25 and 36 from
Amsterdam, Almere, Rotterdam, and Spijkenisse and a 25-year-old
woman from Deventer, according to a statement^[1]
from the National Police Force.

Also confiscated as part of 24 house searches were firearms,
ammunition, jewelry, designer clothing, expensive watches,
electronic devices, tens of thousands of euros in cash, and
cryptocurrency, the officials said.

“The criminal group contacted victims by email, text message and
through mobile messaging applications,” the agency noted^[2]. “These messages were
sent by the members of the gang and contained a phishing link
leading to a bogus banking website.”

Unsuspecting who clicked on the link were tricked into entering
their credentials that were subsequently stolen by the syndicate to
fraudulently cash out several million euros from the victim’s
accounts with the help of money mules.

Additionally, some members of the group are said to have
connections with drugs and possible firearms trafficking.

The bust comes less than a month after Europol, in collaboration
with Australia, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the U.S., took down the
infrastructure associated with FluBot^[3]
Android malware.