Belgian authorities arrested a 19-year-old suspected of being a key determine in a European phishing and money-laundering community that stole greater than 500,000 euros ($572,000) utilizing faux authorities emails and telephone calls to trick victims into putting in remote-access software program.
Authorities detained the suspect in an Airbnb in Antwerp, the place a second suspect was additionally discovered. The Federal Judicial Police launched the investigation in March 2026, when phishing assaults turned a precedence within the area, in line with a Thursday police report.
The primary suspect was introduced earlier than an investigating decide, who issued an arrest warrant. The gang used cash mules and money carriers and laundered the proceeds by cryptocurrencies.
The investigation exhibits that crypto can play a number of roles in phishing operations, together with as a method of laundering illicit proceeds.
Phishing dominates crypto safety losses
Phishing can be a significant menace to cryptocurrency buyers, accounting for almost all of the $482 million misplaced within the first quarter of 2026. Phishing and social engineering assaults accounted for $306 million of these losses, in line with Hacken.
Phishing assaults and social engineering scams are a long-standing hurdle for the crypto business, as attackers exploit human conduct fairly than the code of a protocol.
On Might 25, onchain analyst “b-block” warned that scammers used Google to deploy malicious phishing advertisements impersonating decentralized trade Uniswap, reportedly stealing greater than $400,000 from victims.
Information aggregator DeFiLlama mentioned that “faux advertisements on Google are a standard supply of phishing assaults.” Crypto cybersecurity group Safety Alliance additionally reported in April that there was a “important uptick” in phishing exercise on Google Search in March.
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Blockchain safety firm CertiK’s Skynet report additionally highlighted phishing and social engineering as main assault vectors for North Korea-linked malicious actors.
DPRK hacking playbook. Supply: CertiK
CertiK attributed the 2022 Ronin Bridge exploit that stole $600 million to a spearphishing marketing campaign involving a faux LinkedIn recruiter and a malware-laden PDF.
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