How online fraud schemes are becoming a growing threat

This bonus episode of the Europol Podcast answers questions raised by our audience during the live expert session examining how CSAM offenders are using and adapting to emerging technologies.Danny van Althuis, Head of Team at the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol, goes into depth on CSAM detection and generation, the different types of offender behaviours, and the importance of law enforcement and cooperation.Speakers:Danny van Althuis, Head of Team, EuropolLearn more: Report: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) S04E02 of the Europol Podcast: How CSAM offenders are adapting to new technology Europol's work on threats against minors Cyber Defenders (Roblox game) Help4U portal

Fraud schemes represent the fastest-growing area of organised crime. Online fraud schemes (OFS) networks target both individuals and organisations, operating as highly efficient and transnational industries. These networks employ a range of logistical, technical, and financial operations to perpetrate large-scale fraud.With the increasing adoption of generative AI, fraudsters can now personalise social engineering techniques, making them more convincing and dangerous.Online fraud schemes are one of the key threats highlighted in our annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). To find out more, tune in to this episode where Europol experts discuss this growing threat. Speakers:Jorge Rosal Cosano, Head of Team, EuropolLearn more:Report: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA)The scam-aware mindset: simple habits to stay protectedSocial engineering: when trust is exploited

Ransomware continues to pose a dominant threat across the EU. Criminal actors persist in exploiting vulnerabilities in the digital supply chain and are increasingly employing social engineering techniques. Moreover, they are evolving through the use of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) to adapt their platforms and launch new services.Ransomware is one of the key threats highlighted in our annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). To find out more, tune into this episode on this growing threat, as well as the blurring between hybrid actors and cybercriminals, as told by Europol experts. Speakers:Michaël De Laet, Head of Team, EuropolLearn more:Report: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA)Tips & advice to prevent ransomware from infecting your electronic devices

Offenders involved in child sexual exploitation are swiftly adapting to new technologies, broadening their criminal activities, increasing opportunities for abuse, and making the exchange of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) more efficient and lucrative. The exploitation of AI and E2EE platforms by these offenders, as well as by online extortion communities, presents serious threats to children and society at large.CSAM is one of the key threats highlighted in our annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). To find out more, tune in to this episode on the new technologies and monetisation of CSAM, as told by our Europol experts.Speakers:Danny van Althuis, Head of Team, EuropolLearn more:Report: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA)Europol's work on threats against minorsHelp4U portal

In the rapidly evolving cybercrime landscape, a wide variety of enablers facilitate illicit activities. These range from resilient dark web marketplaces, the use of cryptocurrencies as payment methods, to multi-layered infrastructures designed to avoid detection. These enablers are becoming increasingly resilient, adaptable, and sophisticated.Cybercrime enablers are one of the key threats highlighted in our annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). To find out more, tune in to this episode on the intricacies of cybercrime enablers, as told by our Europol experts. Speakers:Edvardas Šileris, Head of the European Cybercrime Centre, EuropolMarijn Schuurbiers, Head of Unit, EuropolLearn more:Report: Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA)

The DNA of organised crime is evolving, and so is Europol. In this episode, you'll find out which direction Europol is heading in and how the EU’s agency for law enforcement cooperation is staying one step ahead of criminal networks. Tune in to discover why and how the EU is doubling Europol’s resources, how Europol is expanding its global reach, and what that means for Europol’s operations and for you. This is the fifth episode of season 3 of The Europol Podcast. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred platform and follow Europol on social media to be notified when future episodes are released. Speakers:Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Catherine De Bolle, Europol Executive Director. Jürgen Ebner, Deputy Executive Director of Europol, Governance Directorate. Tamara Schotte, Head of Analysis & Strategic Coordination Unit at Europol.

Artificial Intelligence is turbocharging organised crime, but how exactly? In this episode of The Europol Podcast, we reveal how organised crime is accelerating as it becomes increasingly efficient, as harnessing AI allows criminal networks to better target more people, faster and more accurately. You will hear from law enforcement experts across the EU, all based at Europol HQ, about the latest trends in cybercrime: online child sexual exploitation and abuse material, ransomware, crime-as-a-service, and AI’s role as an enabler. Speakers: Andrei Linta, Deputy Executive Director of Capabilities at Europol. Edvardas Sileris, Head of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) at Europol. Tamara Schotte, Head of Analysis & Strategic Coordination Unit at Europol. Marijn Schuurbiers, Head of Operations in the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol. Danny Van Althuis, Head of the Analysis Project Twins at Europol.

Online fraud is increasing in scale, diversity and sophistication, at a pace we have never seen before. From investment fraud to cyberattacks, to get people’s money and data, to the laundering of this criminal money via cryptocurrencies, the entire life cycle of crime takes place online. The Internet is the criminal theatre of today, as almost all serious and organised crime has a digital footprint. In this instalment of The Europol Podcast, we uncover the digital criminal underworld to find out how crime is nurtured online.Speakers Burkhard Mühl, Head of the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) at Europol. Tamara Schotte, Head of Analysis & Strategic Coordination Unit at Europol. Marijn Schuurbiers, Head of Operations in the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol. Sebastian Bley, Head of the Serious Fraud team at Europol.

Serious and organised crime is not just a threat to public safety; it impacts the very foundations of the EU and its society. It has a double destabilising effect on the EU. It undermines the EU’s economy, rule of law and society by generating illicit proceeds, spreading violence, and normalising corruption.But the threat does not stop there: increasingly, criminal networks serve as proxies for hybrid threat actors, exploiting vulnerabilities to destabilise the EU and its Member States from within. Drugs, firearms trafficking, hybrid threats and organised criminal networks recruiting young people to carry out acts of violence, including contract killings. These are a few examples which we will explore in this episode, to find out how serious and organised crime is destabilising the EU.

The battle against serious and organised crime is no longer fought in the streets, but in cyberspace, in artificial intelligence labs, dark-web markets, and the shadows of geopolitics. The very DNA of organised crime is changing. It is growing, evolving and becoming more dangerous.In this episode, you'll learn about the transformation of organised crime, as identified in Europol's flagship report, the EU Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (EU-SOCTA). You'll hear how the EU is responding to those new threats both strategically and operationally.This is the first episode of season 3 of The Europol Podcast. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred platform and follow Europol on social media to be notified when future episodes are released.