INTERPOL Exposes $400M Financial Crime Ring, Highlights New ‘USDT Token Approval Scam’

• Operation HAECHI V, a five-month INTERPOL operation, has resulted in the arrest of over 5,500 potential scammers.
• The global operation took down a voice phishing syndicate that stole over $1 billion from victims.
• INTERPOL has warned of a growing stablecoin scam that uses “pig butchering” techniques.

INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, has announced the seizure of over $400 million in virtual assets and the arrests of over 5,500 financial crime suspects.

The five-month global operation also highlighted a worrying pig butchering scheme involving stablecoins, a fraud practice bad actors are increasingly adopting worldwide.

Operation HAECHI V

The international operation, known as HAECHI V, targeted multiple different cyber frauds, including online sextortion, investment fraud, pig butchering scams, and voice phishing.

From July until November this year, law enforcement in Korea and Beijing worked together to close down a vast voice phishing syndicate responsible for over $1 billion in victim losses, INTERPOL said in a news release .

The syndicate worked by posing as law enforcement with counterfeit identification.

“The effects of cyber-enabled crime can be devastating – people losing their life savings, businesses crippled, and trust in digital and financial systems undermined,” INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said.

INTERPOL Warns of Stablecoin Scam

INTERPOL released a Purple Notice during the operation to warn countries about an emerging fraud involving stablecoins.

The organization provides Purple Notices when it believes criminal activity is at work, but there isn’t enough evidence for a Red Notice, which usually features an arrest warrant.

Member countries, including the U.K. and the U.S., were warned of the “USDT Token Approval Scam,” which allows scammers to access victims’ cryptocurrency wallets.

The worrying scam begins with bad actors utilizing romance-baiting techniques before instructing victims to buy Tether stablecoins.

After the victims have purchased the currency and formed a relationship of trust with the scammer, they are sent a link to set up their investment account.

However, the link sends users to a phishing website that gives scammers full access and control of the victim’s wallet.

Toby Lewis, global head of threat analysis at U.K. cybersecurity firm Darktrace, said stablecoin romance scams show how criminals are adapting classic social engineering for the crypto era.

Lewis told CCN that the scams “combine emotional manipulation with cryptocurrency’s complexity to trick victims into granting account access.”

Pig Butchering Scams on the Rise

Pig Butchering, or romance scams, are estimated to have cost victims over $4.4 billion  in 2023.

The rise in these scams has been attributed to the global accessibility of social media and messaging platforms, which allows scammers to easily target individuals from different parts of the world.

The cross-border nature of these schemes has also allowed scammers to find victims facing financial hardship. These people are usually more susceptible to schemes promising quick financial returns.

“The borderless nature of cybercrime means international police cooperation is essential, and the success of this operation supported by INTERPOL shows what results can be achieved when countries work together,” Urquiza said.