Brussels federal judicial police carried out 37 searches on Wednesday, arresting 25 persons, all young adults, suspected of involvement in phishing offences, the law enforcers announced in a press release.
The searches were part of an investigation into an ongoing case related to the theft of personal data online. The detainees are thought to be members of a criminal organisation suspected of recovering sensitive data from victims through smishing, a type of scam perpetrated via SMS.
The case got off the ground thanks to good cooperation between the judicial services and the crypto-currency platform BIT4YOU, which recently halted its activities.
The searches enabled clues to be sought about the suspects’ specific roles in the criminal process and seizures to be made. The operation involved more than 200 investigators from the arrondissements of Brussels, Walloon Brabant, Mons, Charleroi, Namur, Liège, Luxembourg, Louvain and Hal-Vilvorde.
The investigation showed that the crooks were able to obtain ready-to-use phishing kits, for a fee, on the Telegram network. These were sold with an explanatory manual enabling them to set up the scams.
The police are stressing the importance of never giving out digipass codes or validating Itsme transactions over the phone.
