Belgian and Dutch authorities have arrested eight suspects linked to a wide-ranging 'phone phishing' operation. The crackdown involved coordinated actions in both countries and resulted in 17 targeted searches.

The suspects, believed to have defrauded victims of several million euros, employed a combination of digital and in-person scams. While most of the criminal activities occurred in Belgium, the group’s leadership and operations were mainly based in Rotterdam and other Dutch cities.

The gang's tactics included not only phishing, the criminals also targeted vulnerable individuals, primarily elderly victims, by visiting their homes and posing as bank employees or police officers.

The suspects spent the siphoned money on luxury watches, high-end jewelry, and designer clothes. Authorities believe the group's fraudulent activities impacted victims in at least 10 European countries.

During the raids, law enforcement arrested eight suspects (four in the Netherlands, four in Belgium), searched 17 locations, and seized electronic devices, luxury watches, jewelry, large sums of cash, and a firearm.

The announcement comes mere days after an international investigation led by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) dismantled Smart and TGR, two money laundering networks aiding organized crime across the globe. The operation, dubbed ‘Operation Destabilise’, has led to the arrest of 84 individuals and the seizure of over £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency.

In another action, German authorities disrupted a sophisticated criminal network involved in large-scale online fraud. Authorities seized over 50 servers linked to the Manson Market and secured 200 terabytes of digital evidence. Two suspects, aged 27 and 37, were arrested under European arrest warrants and are in pretrial detention. Separately, Germany's law enforcement disrupted Crimenetwork, the country’s largest marketplace, which the sale of drugs, stolen data, and illegal services. The operation also led to the arrest of the marketplace's suspected administrator, a 29-year-old known online as ‘Techmin.’

And last but not least, French and Dutch authorities neutralized MATRIX, an encrypted messaging service designed and operated by criminals.