An international police operation has exposed the significant role played by cryptocurrencies in romance scams by discovering a huge wallet linked to one of the young suspects.
As part of INTERPOL’s Operation First Light 2026 Enforcement In an effort spanning 97 countries including the United States, authorities identified a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by a 20-year-old suspect who was arrested in Thailand, Interpol said.
Over a 10-month period, the wallet processed over $122 million allegedly tied to the proceeds of romance scams, often moved via cross-chain swaps to obscure the financial trail.
The global campaign resulted in the arrest of 5,811 people and the interception of $293 million. More than 142,000 victims have been identified worldwide.
Operation First Light, which was carried out between January and April, demonstrates coordinated international efforts to disrupt fraudulent networks exploiting digital assets.
Tomonobu Kaya, Director of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, says:
“Social engineering fraud remains a significant threat to our society. Criminal gangs exploit human psychology to manipulate their targets, and no country can remain safe unless all countries are equipped and committed to jointly combating them. INTERPOL is committed to supporting member countries in developing a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to tackle cyber financial crime and the organized crime and money laundering networks that fuel it.”
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