A global regulation enforcement motion referred to as Operation Alice has shut down over 373,000 darkish web pages that provided pretend CSAM packages.
The investigation, led by Germany and supported by Europol, started in mid-2021 and targeted on a platform referred to as “Alice with Violence CP,” operated by a 35-year-old suspect based mostly in China.
These websites marketed youngster sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and cybercrime-as-a-service choices, together with stolen bank card knowledge and entry to compromised methods.
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Supply: Europol
In accordance with Europol, the websites used confirmed previews of claimed CSAM “packages” to trick customers into coming into their e mail addresses and paying between EUR 17 and EUR 250 in Bitcoin, receiving nothing in return.
“Every package deal had an estimated value of between EUR 17 and EUR 215, and promised knowledge volumes starting from a number of gigabytes to a number of terabytes of CSAM,” explains Europol.
“Nevertheless, these had been purely fraudulent websites the place CSAM was marketed and previewed however by no means delivered.”
The fraudulent CSAM platform fooled round 10,000 customers into paying roughly $400,000 to the operator of the websites. Of these, the authorities have recognized 440 customers in 23 international locations, and are at present investigating 100 of them.
Though these individuals by no means acquired the unlawful materials, they nonetheless tried to buy CSAM, financially supporting youngster abuse and demonstrating felony intent. Even making an attempt to purchase such materials is prosecuted in lots of jurisdictions.
At its peak, the rip-off community’s infrastructure comprised 287 servers, with a good portion (105) positioned in Germany, all of which have now been seized. German authorities have additionally issued a global arrest warrant for the Chinese language operator.
Europol highlights its broader youngster safety work, together with the Help4U help platform launched in November 2025, and its “Cease Little one Abuse – Hint an Object” initiative, which invitations individuals to determine the origin of objects seen in CSAM materials that will result in the identification of perpetrators, and the saving of kids from abuse.
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