Europol warns of AI-driven crime threats

Organised crime gangs are turning to AI-powered scams and payment systems to target victims, allowing them to rapidly and more cheaply scale up operations globally and making them harder to detect, Europol warned on Tuesday.

The technology means they can craft messages in multiple languages and create highly realistic dupes to impersonate individuals and blackmail targets in global cyberfraud operations, the law enforcement agency of the EU said in its European Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment report.

Criminals are also using generative artificial intelligence to produce child sexual abuse material, it said.

“The very DNA of organised crime is changing. Criminal networks have evolved into global, technology-driven criminal enterprises, exploiting digital platforms, illicit financial flows, and geopolitical instability to expand their influence,” Catherine De Bolle, Europol’s executive director, said.

The agency said elements of every criminal process were increasingly moving online, including recruitment, communication and payment systems.

“The same qualities that make AI revolutionary – accessibility, adaptability, and sophistication – also make it a powerful tool for criminal networks,” Europol said.

Read more: Reuters