European law enforcement cracked down on a criminal network in Latvia last week, leading to the arrest of five alleged cybercriminals of Latvian nationality and two additional suspects. Authorities also dismantled five servers and seized 1,200 SIM-box devices along with 40,000 active SIM cards.
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Cybercrime-as-a-Service
The alleged perpetrators provided cybercrime-as-a-service to other criminals, enabling a range of fraudulent activities, including large-scale investment scams.
The group is being blamed for more than 1,700 cyber fraud cases in Austria and 1,500 in Latvia, with combined losses of several million euros. Losses in Austria alone are estimated at around EUR 4.5 million, while victims in Latvia lost approximately EUR 420,000.
In the operation, codenamed SIMCARTEL, investigators from Austria, Estonia, and Latvia worked with Europol and Eurojust to take down the network.
“The true scale of this network is still being uncovered,” Europol stated. “Measured by volume, more than 49 million online accounts were created on the basis of the illegal service provided by the suspects. The damage caused by renters of the telephone numbers to their victims amounts to several million euros.”
Dismantling a Sophisticated Infrastructure
The network and its infrastructure were highly sophisticated. It allowed perpetrators worldwide to use the SIM-box service to conduct a broad range of telecommunications-related cybercrimes and other offences.
The group offered telephone numbers registered to people from more than 80 countries and created fake accounts on social media and communication platforms for criminal use.
It’s easy to only see data when it comes to cybercrime, but Neal Jetton (@INTERPOL_HQ) highlights why it’s essential to remember that behind every breach and every case is a real person. #AMGFCC25 pic.twitter.com/DtQuiUF0yq
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European authorities carried out 26 searches and seized around 1,200 SIM boxes operating 40,000 SIM cards. They also confiscated hundreds of thousands of additional SIM cards, five servers hosting the illegal infrastructure, and two websites advertising the service.
The crackdown further led to the freezing of EUR 431,000 in bank accounts and USD 333,000 in crypto wallets belonging to the suspects. Four luxury vehicles were also seized.
“The criminal network offering this service enabled its clients to commit a multitude of serious crimes that would not have been possible without masking their identities,” Europol added. “The now-dismantled group undertook great efforts to provide its clients with anonymity and scalability.”
Separately, several European authorities have also taken down more than 1,400 fraudulent online trading platforms that targeted retail investors. This follows an earlier coordinated action in June 2025, which resulted in the removal of about 800 illicit domains.
This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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