Scammers who turned Airbnbs into fraud centres get arrested

Multiple members of the international cybercriminal organisation that transformed Airbnbs into fraud centres and stole millions of Euros from victims were apprehended in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Europol announced the apprehension and revealed that it executed a coordinated operation involving 17 simultaneous searches in both countries earlier this month. The arrests culminated in investigations launched in 2022 and carried out by a dedicated operational task force.

The Netherlands police force announced four arrests of three men and one woman, aged 23 to 66, who are believed to be associated with the cybercrime group. The suspects are accused of phishing, online fraud, bank helpdesk fraud, money laundering, and participation in a criminal organisation.

Additionally, the police agents confiscated various devices that may serve as evidence, such as data carriers, phones, and different luxury items believed to have been purchased using the profit from cybercriminal activities.

 

Airbnbs became headquarters for malicious activities.

 

According to reports, the cybercriminal group rented Airbnbs and luxury apartments to set up temporary call centres, which they used for phishing campaigns.

The phishing operation commences once these fraudsters contact victims across Europe using email, SMS, or WhatsApp messages. They also attract these targets by posing as bank employees or members of a fraud prevention task force.

Next, the scammers will claim that the victim’s accounts have been compromised and urge them to follow links that redirect them to phishing sites designed to appear as legitimate banking interfaces.

Once the victims enter their credentials on those malicious pages, the threat actors can gain control and drain their bank accounts. In some instances, the victims were verbally abused, especially if the fraud attempt failed, leaving them traumatised.

Furthermore, the police say the attackers spent the stolen money lavishly as they bought expensive vacation packages, designer clothes, luxury watches, high-end cars, and organised parties in exclusive clubs.

However, these activities are some of the reasons for the downfall of these cybercriminals since they did not keep a low profile. To avoid or prevent these scams from phishing operators, users should always treat unsolicited communications with caution and double-check the legitimacy of a transaction from their banking institution.

Lastly, always verify account issues from legitimate sources or hotlines to avoid social engineering and phishing attempts employed by cybercriminals.