Interpol Busts Asian Sextortion Syndicate

Interpol claims to have dismantled an intercontinental cybercrime ring that built an believed $47,000 from extorting dozens of victims.

The policing organization claimed it experienced traced at minimum 34 scenarios again to the syndicate, which contacted victims mostly in Hong Kong and Singapore by on the net intercourse and courting platforms.

They would evidently trick the target into downloading an application to their system, in get to interact in “naked chats.” Even so, the application basically contained malware created to steal the victim’s contacts.

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The extorters would then threaten to ship naked movies taken by using the application to the victim’s make contact with list unless of course they compensated up.

“We executed a proactive investigation and in-depth assessment of a zombie command and management server hosting the malicious application, which – along with the joint efforts by our counterparts – allowed us to establish and find people linked to the felony syndicate,” mentioned Raymond Lam Cheuk Ho, acting head of the Hong Kong Police’s Cyber Security and Technology Criminal offense Bureau.

“I am persuaded that no one police company would have been capable to attain this end result alone. The international law enforcement collaboration via Interpol was definitely essential.”

Sextortionists don’t generally have any compromising articles on their victims, as in the situation of this group.

Sometimes victims are spammed with messages boasting that the perpetrator has covertly videoed them via their webcam. Normally, they may possibly use breached facts these types of as email addresses and passwords to insert legitimacy to their threats.

Nonetheless, it is a rising menace that necessitates a stronger response, Interpol has reasoned.

Back in June, the group introduced a general public awareness marketing campaign, #YouMayBeNext, with the help of 75 member international locations. It coated not just sextortion but also ransomware and DDoS attacks, which are also utilized as tools to blackmail end users and businesses.

Interpol recommended any target of sextortion or very similar threats to stop speak to with the destructive actor, obtain as substantially evidence as possible and report their ordeal to the police. It urged victims not to fork out their extorters.