413/68 Monday, October 20, 2025
The European Union law enforcement agency Europol announced the successful takedown of a cybercrime network operating under a Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS) model, as part of Operation SIMCARTEL. The network offered SIM Farm rental services that enabled global online crimes such as phishing and investment fraud. The operation included 26 raids, resulting in the arrest of seven suspects, the seizure of 1,200 SIM boxes with more than 40,000 active SIM cards, as well as the confiscation of four luxury vehicles and the freezing of bank accounts and cryptocurrency assets worth over €700,000.
This operation was a joint effort between authorities in Austria, Estonia, Finland, and Latvia, with the support of Europol and Eurojust. Investigators found that the cybercriminals used advanced technical infrastructure to provide customers with phone numbers registered in more than 80 countries for illegal activities. These numbers were used to create fake accounts on social media and messaging apps to conceal real identities and locations. In total, the network supported the creation of more than 49 million fake accounts, which were leveraged for financial scams and smishing campaigns.
The fake accounts were tied to investment scams, extortion, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material. The network’s main websites, such as GoGetSMS[.]com and ApiSim[.]com, openly advertised temporary phone number services for “secure” account verification and even allowed SIM card owners to generate passive income by receiving one-time password (OTP) verification messages. These websites were shut down and their servers seized on October 10, 2025. According to Europol, the network was linked to more than 1,700 fraud cases in Austria and 1,500 cases in Latvia, with total damages exceeding $5.25 million USD.
แหล่งข่าว https://thehackernews.com/2025/10/europol-dismantles-sim-farm-network.html
