Authorities from 61 countries have successfully carried out a global police operation to deal a major blow to online scam networks.
They have frozen a total of 6,745 bank accounts, seized assets worth a total of USD 257 million, and disrupted the transnational organized crime networks responsible.
Operation First Light 2024 was a focused effort to combat a range of fraudulent activities, such as phishing, investment fraud, fake online shopping sites, romance scams, and impersonation scams.
The operation led to the apprehension of 3,950 individuals and the identification of 14,643 other potential suspects worldwide.
Thanks to the combined efforts of law enforcement agencies, they were able to successfully seize around USD 135 million in traditional currency and USD 2 million in digital currency.
Government-issued fiat currency, like the US Dollar, Euro, or Yen, is the official currency that is regulated and controlled by governments.
In addition, authorities confiscated assets valued at more than USD 120 million. These assets include real estate, luxury vehicles, valuable jewelry, and a variety of high-value items and collections.
The operation relied on INTERPOL's Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) mechanism to track and seize illegal funds from criminal activities, including both traditional currency and cryptocurrency.
This mechanism played an important role in stopping a business email compromise fraud that targeted a Spanish victim and resulted in the transfer of USD 331,000 to Hong Kong, China.
In an instance, Australian authorities successfully retrieved AUD 5.5 million (USD 3.7 million) on behalf of a victim of an impersonation scam. The fraudulent transfer of funds had taken place to bank accounts in Malaysia and Hong Kong, China.
Impact of Operation First Light
According to Dr. Isaac Kehinde Oginni, Director of INTERPOL's Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), the significance of the operation goes beyond mere statistics.
He pointed out how it has safeguarded lives, thwarted crimes, and contributed to a stronger global economy.
Confiscating substantial sums of money and dismantling the networks supporting them not only protects our communities, but also delivers a major blow to the transnational organized crime groups that pose a significant threat to global security.
Yong Wang, Head of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Beijing, emphasized the widespread nature of the threat.
He pointed out that social engineering fraud is a significant challenge globally, with organized crime groups operating across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and victims being targeted on every continent.
Every country is susceptible to this kind of crime, and effectively addressing it necessitates robust international collaboration.
The operation successfully dismantled a complex international scam network in the Namibian capital.
Success of the operation
As a result, 88 local youths who were coerced into participating in scams were rescued. 163 computers and 350 mobile phones were confiscated by authorities, and the data stored on them was sent to INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters for analysis.
Another example highlights the successful collaboration between the Singapore Police Force's Anti-Scam Centre and the Hong Kong, China, Police Force's Anti-Deception Coordination Centre.
Their joint efforts thwarted a tech support scam, safeguarding a 70-year-old individual from losing SGD 380,000 (USD 281,200) in savings.
Global scam networks were disrupted as a result of joint investigations conducted by Brazilian and Portuguese authorities.
The participation of regional policing bodies such as AFRIPOL, ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL, and Europol further enhanced Operation First Light 2024.
Operation First Light 2024, which began in 2023 and concluded with its final tactical phase from March to May 2024, has played an important role in the ongoing battle against online scams.
The operation, which was funded by China's Ministry of Public Security, concluded with a meeting in Tianjin. During the meeting, participating countries analyzed the results, shared intelligence, and discussed plans for future operations.