INTERPOL said a five-month cybercrime crackdown across the Middle East and North Africa led to 201 arrests, the identification of 382 additional suspects and the seizure of 53 servers. The operation, called Ramz, involved 13 countries and focused on phishing, malware and online scams.
KEY FACTS
- Countries involved Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia and the U.A.E.
- Timeline The effort ran from October 2025 through February 2026.
- Victims Authorities identified 3,867 victims during the operation.
- Examples Algeria disrupted a phishing-as-a-service setup, while Jordanian police uncovered a financial fraud scheme.
The operation targeted infrastructure used for phishing and malware distribution, along with scams that were spreading across the region. In Algeria, authorities seized a server, a computer, a mobile phone and hard drives linked to phishing software and scripts, and one suspect was arrested.
Moroccan officials found computers, smartphones and external hard drives containing banking data and phishing tools. In Oman, investigators identified a server in a private residence that held sensitive information and was affected by multiple critical security vulnerabilities and malware.
In Qatar, compromised devices were secured after owners were told their systems had been used to spread malicious threats. In Jordan, police found a fraud operation that had drawn in 15 people, who investigators said were trafficking victims recruited with false job offers and then coerced into the scheme.
The disclosure also said private-sector partners contributed intelligence on compromised accounts and active phishing infrastructure across the region. Group-IB said it provided actionable intelligence on more than 5,000 compromised accounts, including some tied to government infrastructure.
WHY IT MATTERS
The actions show how cross-border cybercrime cases can involve phishing, malware, fraud and human trafficking at the same time. They also highlight the role of shared intelligence between law enforcement and private companies in finding victims, disrupting infrastructure and limiting further damage.