Pandemic sees criminals target online shoppers: Europol

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a crisp emergence successful online buying fraud, Europe's policing bureau warned connected Thursday, saying criminals continued to prey connected victims moving from home.

Fears of catching the microorganism person driven a crisp summation successful online shopping, which successful crook has led to a large emergence successful delivery fraud successful the 2nd twelvemonth of the pandemic, Europol said successful its yearly cybercrime report.

"The hold of lockdowns passim Europe has brought with it a fig of caller e-commerce opportunities, which person often proven to beryllium a people for criminals," the Hague-based bureau said.

"Criminals connection goods and person outgo without delivery, defraud online shops with anemic information measures, oregon usage transportation services arsenic phishing lures," it said.

Mobile phones successful peculiar were being targeted, with criminal gangs posing arsenic transportation services pretending to connection accusation astir a parcel, but successful world hoping to get the victim's relationship and recognition paper details.

This included sending messages via SMS connected mobile phones, a signifier referred to arsenic "smishing."

Meanwhile, the acheronian web continued to beryllium the main marketplace spot for illicit activity, contempt caller planetary constabulary successes successful taking down amerciable websites specified arsenic DarkMarket successful January.

Europol said cryptocurrencies similar Bitcoin and Monero remained the astir fashionable signifier of outgo for amerciable goods and services connected the acheronian web.

Weapons look to beryllium progressively traded connected the acheronian web arsenic good arsenic done encrypted chat groups, Europol said.

Novel weapons, specified arsenic those made by three-dimensional printers, were besides connected the rise.

For instance, Spanish constabulary successful September past twelvemonth busted a store wherever these weapons were being made.

There, instrumentality officials seized templates for guns downloaded from the dark web and respective 3D printers, "one of which was successful the process of printing a tiny firearm," Europol said.

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© 2021 AFP