European, Latin American authorities arrest 17 in crackdown on phishing network with 483,000 victims | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Europol and eight other agencies launched the bust aimed at a network that targeted people trying to regain access to lost or stolen phones.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"European, Latin American authorities arrest 17 in crackdown on phishing network with 483,000 victims\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Europol and eight other agencies launched the bust aimed at a network that targeted people trying to regain access to lost or stolen phones.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" 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<\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"24.750825082508\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"30.684210526316\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/news\/threats\/cybercrime\/\"> <span>Cybercrime<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Europol and eight other agencies launched the bust aimed at a network that targeted people trying to regain access to lost or stolen phones. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"509\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims.jpg?resize=640%2C509&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=300,239 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=768,611 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=1024,814 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=1536,1222 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=600,477 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=211,168 211w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=424,337 424w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=849,675 849w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-2.jpg?resize=1060,843 1060w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px\"><figcaption> photo via Europol <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"31.536712697878\"><body readability=\"65.416505230531\"><\/p>\n<p>European and Latin American law enforcement arrested 17 suspects in a bust aimed at a criminal phishing network that has claimed nearly half a million victims, Europol said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Among those arrested were the Argentinian administrator of the phishing platform, through which the alleged criminals engaged in unlocking lost or stolen mobile phones, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.europol.europa.eu\/media-press\/newsroom\/news\/criminal-phishing-network-resulting-in-over-480-000-victims-worldwide-busted-in-spain-and-latin-america\">the European police organization said<\/a>. The cyber firm Group-IB, which aided law enforcement in the crackdown, said the platform was called iServer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInvestigators reported 483,000 victims worldwide, who had attempted to regain access to their phones and been phished in the process,\u201d Europol said in a news release. \u201cThe victims are mainly Spanish-speaking nationals from European, North American and South American countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Europol joined forces with law enforcement agencies in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Spain for the operation, as well as Ameripol, a police organization for the Americas, and EL PACCTO, a joint European-Latin American organization that cooperates on transnational crime. It was the first Europol-Ameripol team-up. Europol shared information with law enforcement that it obtained from Group-IB.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The crackdown took place between Sept. 10 and this Tuesday, and in addition to the 17 arrests, notched 28 searches and 921 items seized \u2014 mobile phones, mainly, but also other electronic devices, vehicles and weapons.<\/p>\n<p>The criminal network\u2019s platform has been active for five years, Euopol said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile iServer was essentially an automated phishing platform, its specific focus on harvesting credentials to unlock stolen phones set it apart from typical phishing-as-a-service offerings,\u201d Group-IB said in a news release. \u201ciServer\u2019s platform features a web interface that enables low-skilled criminals, known as \u2018unlockers,\u2019 to steal device passwords, user credentials from cloud-based mobile platforms and other personal information from victims. This allows them to bypass \u2018Lost Mode\u2019 and unlock phones acquired through illegal means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Group-IB <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/group-ib-contributes-to-international-operation-kaerb-that-led-to-the-arrest-of-the-masterminds-behind-the-iserver-phishing-as-a-service-platform-which-claimed-more-than-483-000-victims-globally-302253202.html\">celebrated the operation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are honored to stop millions of cyber attacks targeting mobile users. The arrest of the syndicate members, including the mastermind, has averted significant fraud and safeguarded the personal lives of individuals across various regions,\u201d CEO Dmitry Volkov said in a news release. \u201cThis serves as yet another great example of cross border collaboration, and we will continue to support local and international law enforcement efforts to combat cybercrime globally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7.7216117216117\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Tim Starks\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-card__details\" readability=\"10.901098901099\">\n<h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<p> Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. 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{"id":5394,"date":"2024-09-19T16:44:40","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=81839"},"modified":"2024-09-19T16:44:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:44:40","slug":"european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/19\/european-latin-american-authorities-arrest-17-in-crackdown-on-phishing-network-with-483000-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"European, Latin American authorities arrest 17 in crackdown on phishing network with 483,000 victims"},"content":{"rendered":"