Europol Dismantles SIM Farm Network Powering 49 Million Fake Accounts Worldwide

Oct 19, 2025Ravie LakshmananSIM Swapping / Cryptocurrency

Europol recently announced the dismantling of a sophisticated cybercrime-as-a-service (CaaS) platform that facilitated a wide range of criminal activities, including phishing and investment fraud, through the operation of a SIM farm.

The coordinated effort, known as Operation SIMCARTEL, resulted in the arrest of seven suspects and the seizure of 1,200 SIM box devices containing 40,000 active SIM cards. Five of the detained individuals are Latvian nationals.

Additionally, five servers were taken down, two websites advertising the service were commandeered, and significant amounts of money were frozen in suspects’ bank and cryptocurrency accounts.

The operation involved authorities from Austria, Estonia, Finland, and Latvia, working in conjunction with Europol and Eurojust to combat the criminal network responsible for over 1,700 cyber fraud cases in Austria and 1,500 in Latvia.

According to Europol, the platform enabled a variety of telecommunications-related cybercrimes and other illicit activities, with the ability to create fake accounts on social media and communication platforms from over 80 countries.

These accounts were utilized for phishing, smishing, financial fraud, and other criminal activities, including extortion, migrant smuggling, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material.

GoGetSMS, one of the websites associated with the operation, offered temporary phone numbers and the monetization of SIM cards through specialized software.

Users have reported difficulties with GoGetSMS, with complaints about unresponsive support and non-functional services.

The Latvian State Police revealed that the platform impacted thousands of individuals globally and was utilized for anonymous communication and payments.