In a sweeping international operation targeting financial crimes and cyber fraud, INTERPOL has arrested more than 5,500 suspects and seized over $400 million in virtual assets and currencies. The five-month operation, code-named HAECHI-V, ran from July to November 2024 and involved law enforcement agencies across 40 countries.
A major breakthrough came when authorities in Korea and Beijing dismantled a sophisticated voice phishing network that had caused $1.1 billion in losses. The criminal syndicate, which targeted over 1,900 victims, saw 27 arrests and 19 indictments. The criminals had posed as law enforcement officers using counterfeit identification documents to deceive their targets.
During the operation, INTERPOL uncovered a new cryptocurrency scam dubbed the "USDT Token Approval Scam." The fraudsters used romance-based manipulation to convince victims to purchase Tether stablecoins. They then sent phishing links disguised as investment account setup pages to gain unauthorized access and empty victims' digital wallets.
This latest crackdown builds on INTERPOL's previous success in combating cybercrime. Last year's operation resulted in 3,500 arrests and the recovery of $300 million across 34 countries.
The scale of HAECHI-V highlights the growing threat of international cybercrime and demonstrates law enforcement's increased capability to coordinate across borders in pursuing digital criminals.