3,500 Arrested in Global Operation HAECHI-IV Targeting Financial Criminals

Interpol's six-month HAECHI‑IV operation (July–December 2023) resulted in nearly 3,500 arrests across 34 countries and approximately $300 million seized, targeting a range of cyber-enabled financial crimes—including voice phishing, romance scams, online sextortion, investment fraud (including NFT rug pulls), money laundering tied to illegal online gambling, business email compromise, and e-commerce fraud—and freezing 82,112 suspicious bank accounts while confiscating $199M in fiat and $101M in virtual assets; the report also highlights the growing use of AI and deepfake technology to enhance scam authenticity and enable impersonation-based extortion and fraud.