Interpol-Led Global Cybercrime Crackdown Dismantles 45,000 Malicious IPs and Arrests Dozens
scsecMarch 16, 20262 Mins read 
Interpol and Global Partners Shut Down 45,000 Malicious IPs in Cybercrime Crackdown
An international cybercrime operation led by Interpol has resulted in the shutdown of more than 45,000 malicious IP addresses and servers linked to phishing, malware, and ransomware campaigns.
The coordinated effort, known as Operation Synergia III, took place between July 2025 and January 2026 and involved law enforcement agencies from 72 countries and territories. During the operation, authorities arrested 94 individuals and placed another 110 suspects under investigation. Officials also seized 212 electronic devices and servers believed to be connected to cybercriminal activities.
According to Neal Jetton, director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate, cybercrime continues to grow in sophistication and impact. He emphasized that large-scale international cooperation remains essential for disrupting criminal networks and protecting victims worldwide.
Although many aspects of the investigation remain confidential, authorities confirmed that more than 33,000 phishing and fraudulent websites were identified in Macau and mainland China. These sites were designed to mimic legitimate services such as banks, government portals, payment platforms, and online casinos. Victims were often tricked into depositing money or unknowingly providing sensitive personal and financial information.
The operation also led to arrests in several countries. In Togo, police detained 10 suspects operating a cyber fraud ring from a residential location. Members of the group reportedly specialized in hacking social media accounts and conducting social engineering attacks, including romance scams and sextortion schemes.
In Bangladesh, authorities arrested 40 suspects and confiscated 134 electronic devices connected to various cybercrime operations. Investigators linked the group to loan scams, fake job offers, identity theft, and credit card fraud.
The crackdown comes shortly after another major international operation that disrupted the phishing-as-a-service platform Tycoon 2FA. The platform enabled cybercriminals to bypass multi-factor authentication by using adversary-in-the-middle proxy techniques that captured session cookies in real time. As part of that effort, authorities seized 330 domains tied to phishing pages and infrastructure used to control the service.
Operation Synergia III also relied on collaboration with cybersecurity companies, including Trend Micro. Experts from the private sector provided threat intelligence that helped investigators identify malicious infrastructure, map cybercriminal networks, and link suspects to illegal activities.
Robert McArdle, director of cybercrime research at Trend Micro’s TrendAI unit, noted that cybercrime ecosystems are complex and often involve multiple layers of infrastructure and actors. He said partnerships between law enforcement and cybersecurity experts are critical for tracing digital evidence and dismantling criminal operations at scale.
Authorities say investigations connected to Operation Synergia III are still ongoing, and further arrests and infrastructure seizures are expected as more cybercriminal networks are identified.
- cybercrime
- Cybercrime Investigation
- Cybercriminal Networks
- cybersecurity
- Digital Crime
- Financial Fraud
- Global Cybercrime Operation
- Identity Theft
- international law enforcement
- INTERPOL
- Malware
- Online Fraud
- Operation Synergia III
- Phishing Attacks
- Phishing Websites
- Phishing-as-a-Service
- ransomware
- Trend Micro
- Tycoon 2FA
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Operation Synergia III highlights how critical global cooperation has become in the fight against cybercrime. As phishing, ransomware, and fraud schemes grow more sophisticated, collaboration between international law enforcement and cybersecurity companies is essential to dismantle criminal networks and protect users worldwide. Continued intelligence sharing and coordinated operations like this will play a key role in strengthening global digital security.