International Sting Takes Down SIM Box Criminal Network

Seven individuals were arrested in an operation codenamed SIMCARTEL, with law enforcement in Austria, Estonia and Latvia coordinating the takedown of a massive SIM card fraud network that provided fake phone numbers from more than 80 countries to criminals. The operation dismantled five servers and seized 1,200 SIM box devices alongside 40,000 active SIM cards, with authorities linking the network to more than 3,200 cyber fraud cases in Austria and Latvia.

The criminals used the SIM-box service to create nearly 50 million malicious online accounts for telecommunications-related attacks and other activities, the network’s infrastructure described by Europol as highly sophisticated. Europol said the operation led to a total loss of several million euros and involved an online service that supplied telephone numbers registered in over 80 countries for threat actors to use in scams, fraud and cyberattacks.

The takedown was part of EMPACT, an EU-wide programme aimed at identifying and disrupting high-risk criminal networks, and Shadowserver Foundation supported the effort. According to Europol, the scale of the network continues to be uncovered as investigations proceed. October 20, 2025.