In a major international law enforcement action, Europol has announced the disruption of a large-scale cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) platform. The coordinated effort, codenamed Operation SIMCARTEL, successfully dismantled a sophisticated network that operated a SIM farm responsible for enabling millions of fraudulent online accounts. According to Europol’s announcement on October 19, 2025, the service was used by criminals to facilitate a wide range of illegal activities, including phishing campaigns and investment fraud schemes. The network is estimated to have powered an astonishing 49 million fake accounts across the globe.

Details of the Coordinated Takedown

The operation involved a collaborative effort between law enforcement authorities from Austria, Estonia, Finland, and Latvia. The takedown involved 26 property searches, which led to the arrest of seven individuals suspected of being involved in the criminal enterprise. Of the seven suspects detained, five have been identified as Latvian nationals. The operation represents a significant blow to the infrastructure supporting mass account fraud and other cybercrimes that rely on SMS verification and anonymous accounts.

Significant Seizures and Asset Freezes

During the raids, authorities seized a substantial amount of hardware and digital infrastructure. This included the confiscation of 1,200 SIM box devices, which collectively held approximately 40,000 active SIM cards used to operate the service. Law enforcement also dismantled five servers critical to the platform’s operations. Furthermore, two websites advertising the CaaS platform, gogetsms[.]com and apisim[.]com, were taken over on October 10, 2025, and now display an official seizure banner. In addition to the technical equipment, the operation resulted in the seizure of four luxury vehicles and the freezing of significant financial assets. Authorities froze €431,000 in bank accounts and an additional €266,000 held in cryptocurrency accounts belonging to the suspects.

Source: https://thehackernews.com/2025/10/europol-dismantles-sim-farm-network.html