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Euro cops take down cybercrime network with 49M fake accounts

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Hacker News

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European police have arrested seven individuals and dismantled a cybercrime network responsible for creating nearly 50 million fake online accounts for fraudulent activities. The operation, known as SIMCARTEL, was a joint effort involving police from Latvia, Austria, Estonia, and Finland. The network provided temporary telephone numbers from over 80 countries to criminals seeking to conceal their identities for cybercrimes like investment fraud and phishing attacks. Financial losses in Austria and Latvia totaled millions of euros, with authorities seizing significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from the criminals. Europol and other organizations played key roles in the investigation and takedown of the network.

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