Law enforcement agencies have arrested 5,811 suspects and seized $293 million in illicit assets in a global anti-fraud operation spanning 97 countries. Dubbed “Operation First Light 2026,” this joint action has targeted social engineering fraud (including business email compromise, sextortion, impersonation, romance, and investment scams) and money laundering activities between January 15 and April 30. “This included pro-active action against high-value targets, raiding identified premises, blocking or freezing bank accounts and virtual wallets, requesting Interpol Notices and Diffusions and proactively utilizing Interpol’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP), a stop-payment mechanism that facilitates the swift blocking of illicit financial flows of both fiat and virtual assets,” Interpol said on Thursday.

Full report : Interpol and law enforcement agencies arrest 5,811 suspects and seize $293 million in an operation combating social engineering scams and fraud across 97 countries.