For the second time this year, global law enforcement united to take down the threat group behind the infamous LabHost platform.
The group, which has been accused of industrial-scale fraud, used phishing scams to trick 70,000+ victims into making online payments, with an estimated £1m stolen to date.
Yesterday, operatives from 19 countries came together to take down the site that helped criminals send messages and direct victims to fake websites appearing to be legitimate online payment or shopping services, arresting 37 suspects in the process.
Following the news, Matt Hull, Global Head of Threat Intelligence at NCC Group, comments:
“Given the ever-rising volumes of online crime, this takedown is a significant step in tackling the activity of cybercriminals across the globe. This latest intervention by UK law enforcement comes shortly after an international collaboration between law enforcement agencies and governments to take down the prolific Lockbit Ransomware Group.
“Frustratingly, however, we know that cybercriminal groups always evolve. As we’ve seen in the past, it is possible that some of the individuals behind LabHost will pop up again but under a new name, finding new ways to operate under the radar, and continue with their criminal enterprise.
“Even as law enforcement continues to make strides in tackling this activity, continuing to raise public awareness of some of the common scams these groups use is just as important. It’s especially key now that technology like AI is enabling the easier creation of more convincing scams, and we encourage regulators to do more to support the identification of misuse of AI for these purposes. Being alert to unsolicited and suspicious-looking texts, calls, or emails, and never clicking on links unless from a verified source are simple approaches people can take to protect themselves.”
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