INTERPOL has launched Operation Shadow Storm, a dedicated global taskforce aimed at dismantling overseas scam networks that prey on British victims.
The initiative, funded by the UK Home Office and announced at the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna on Tuesday (17 March) brings together law enforcement from INTERPOL’s 196 member countries to target “scam compounds”.
These are large-scale fraud operations often involving call centres, cryptocurrency schemes, romance fraud, and investment scams run from locations in Southeast Asia, Nigeria, Vietnam, India, and beyond.
The taskforce will use INTERPOL’s global intelligence-sharing networks and tools like I-GRIP, a rapid stop-payment mechanism, to freeze fraudulent bank accounts, shut down communication channels used by scammers, and coordinate raids and arrests.
It specifically addresses the growing links between these fraud operations, cybercrime, and human trafficking, where victims are often forced into criminal roles.
Around two-thirds of fraud affecting the UK originates overseas, making domestic action alone insufficient. One in fourteen adults and one in four businesses in the UK have fallen victim to scams in recent years, with losses mounting into billions annually.
The operation builds on recent successes, including joint efforts with Nigerian and Vietnamese authorities that led to arrests and the takedown of scam compounds. In one instance, intelligence-sharing helped shut down operations costing UK victims nearly £400,000 in one Indian call centre case.
The launch coincides with the release of INTERPOL’s updated Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment, which warns of increasingly sophisticated scams enhanced by AI, including deepfakes, voice cloning, and hybrid tactics blending sextortion with investment fraud.
A key accompanying development is a first-of-its-kind global public-private partnership. Signatories include G7 countries plus Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, alongside major tech firms such as Meta, Google, Amazon, Match Group, and VMO2 Media, as well as the International Banking Federation.
The partners will share intelligence to identify emerging threats and disrupt scammers’ infrastructure more effectively.
“Today, we are facing a very different kind of fraud; one that is sophisticated, organized, and perpetrated across borders with breath-taking speed,” said John Brandolino, Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which co-hosted the summit with INTERPOL.
“We are seeing a global criminal ecosystem that requires different skillsets and expertise to address – from tech companies, banks, private sector stakeholders and governments.”
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