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INTERPOL said Operation First Light 2026 led to 5,811 arrests across 97 countries and territories and the seizure or interception of $293 million in illicit assets during a four-month crackdown on social engineering fraud and related money laundering. The campaign, conducted between January 15 and April 30, targeted business email compromise, impersonation fraud, romance scams, investment scams, sextortion, and the financial networks used to move criminal proceeds. Investigators reviewed roughly 150,000 cases, identified more than 142,000 victims, blocked 31,014 bank accounts, and identified 15,606 additional suspects beyond those arrested.
INTERPOL said the operation used its I-GRIP payment-intervention system to help stop suspicious transfers involving both fiat currency and virtual assets before settlement, with support from partners including ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL, and Europol. Authorities highlighted cases in Eswatini, Thailand, Singapore and Oman, Macao, China, and Palau, including impersonation scams, romance-scam laundering through cryptocurrency cross-chain swaps, a business email compromise investigation, and scam centres operating from hotels. The operation was funded in part by China’s Ministry of Public Security and adds to a broader series of INTERPOL-led anti-cybercrime actions such as Synergia, Serengeti, Africa Cyber Surge, Red Card 2.0, and Synergia III.
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INTERPOL publicly announced the results of Operation First Light 2026, detailing the global crackdown on social engineering fraud schemes including business email compromise, sextortion, impersonation, romance scams, and investment scams. The announcement also noted support from partners including ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL, and Europol.
By the end of the operation on April 30, authorities had handled roughly 150,000 cases, arrested 5,811 suspects, blocked or froze 31,014 bank accounts, and intercepted or seized $293 million in illicit assets. Investigators also identified more than 142,000 victims worldwide and 15,606 additional suspects.
Operation First Light 2026 began as a global anti-fraud law enforcement campaign spanning 97 countries and territories, targeting social engineering scams and related money laundering networks. The operation ran between January 15 and April 30.
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**INTERPOL** said **Operation Synergia III** led to the arrest of **94 suspects**, the seizure of **212 devices and servers**, and the sinkholing or takedown of more than **45,000 malicious IP addresses** tied to cybercrime infrastructure across **72 countries and territories**. The operation ran from July 2025 through January 2026 and targeted infrastructure supporting **phishing, malware, ransomware, romance scams, credit card fraud, and related online fraud**. Authorities said **110 additional individuals remain under investigation**, underscoring that follow-on enforcement activity is still ongoing. Preliminary case details show broad international participation and a focus on both technical infrastructure and fraud operators. In **Macau**, investigators identified more than **33,000 phishing and fraudulent websites**, including fake casino, banking, government, payment, and other critical-service sites used to steal credentials and payment data. In **Bangladesh**, authorities arrested **40 suspects** and seized **134 devices** linked to loan scams, employment scams, identity theft, and credit card fraud, while in **Togo** police arrested **10 suspects** tied to a fraud ring whose members split responsibilities between account compromise and social-engineering schemes such as romance and sextortion scams. The reporting describes a coordinated law-enforcement disruption of active criminal infrastructure rather than a vendor announcement or generic security guidance.
Jun 29, 2026
**INTERPOL’s Operation Red Card 2.0**, coordinated under the **African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC)**, resulted in **651 arrests** across **16 African countries** and the recovery of **over $4.3 million** tied to online scam activity. The operation ran from **December 8, 2025 to January 30, 2026**, identified **1,247 victims**, and targeted criminal activity linked to **over $45 million** in losses, including **high-yield investment fraud**, **mobile money fraud**, and **fraudulent mobile loan applications**. Law enforcement reported significant disruption activity, including the seizure of **2,341 devices** and takedowns of **1,442 malicious IPs/domains/servers (and related infrastructure)**. Notable actions included Nigeria dismantling an investment-fraud ring that leveraged **phishing, identity theft, and social engineering** (with **1,000+ fraudulent social media accounts** removed) and arresting **six suspects** accused of breaching a major telecom provider using **compromised staff credentials** to steal airtime/data for resale; Kenya arrested **27 suspects** tied to social-media/messaging-driven fraud schemes; and Côte d’Ivoire arrested **58 suspects** linked to predatory loan-app activity with hidden fees and abusive collection practices.
Jun 29, 2026
INTERPOL said **Operation Ramz** led to 201 arrests across 13 Middle East and North Africa countries after a coordinated campaign against phishing, malware, and online scam networks. The operation, described as the first cybercrime action of its scale in the region, ran from October 2025 through 28 February 2026 and also identified 382 additional suspects, 3,867 victims, and 53 seized servers, with nearly 8,000 intelligence and investigative data points shared among participating authorities. Investigations produced multiple country-level disruptions, including the dismantling of a phishing-as-a-service platform in Algeria, the seizure of phishing infrastructure and banking data in Morocco, the disabling of a vulnerable malware-infected server in Oman, and the exposure of a financial fraud and fraudulent investment scheme in Jordan that also involved human trafficking victims. INTERPOL said the crackdown involved Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates, with support from private-sector partners including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Shadowserver Foundation, Team Cymru, and TrendAI.
Jun 29, 2026