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Authorities reportedly dismantled a SIM-box-for-hire operation called SIMCartel in Latvia on 10 October 2025. Europol was reported as saying that more than 49 million online accounts had been created using the service. That figure counts accounts—not 49 million people, victims, or necessarily accounts that remain active.
What happened in Operation SIMCartel?
IT Pro reported that authorities carried out the operation in Latvia on 10 October 2025, involving authorities from Austria, Estonia, Finland and Latvia, as well as Europol and Eurojust. The operation reportedly resulted in seven arrests, five servers taken down, and the seizure of 1,200 SIM-box devices and 40,000 active SIM cards. Authorities also took over two websites that offered the service, gogetsms.com and apisim.com. IT Pro’s report and TechRadar Pro’s report, both published on 20 October 2025, provide these operation details.
TechRadar Pro additionally reported 26 searches, with five arrests made initially and two more later. The figures come from secondary news reports attributing information to Europol and participating authorities; they are not independently confirmed here against an original Europol announcement or investigative records.
What was the SIMCartel service?
The reported service rented access to telephone numbers registered in more than 80 countries. Its infrastructure included SIM-box devices—hardware that holds multiple SIM cards and can route calls through local mobile networks. Customers could use the numbers to create online accounts while masking their identities, according to the reports.
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Europol was reported as saying that more than 49 million online accounts had been created using the service. This is a measure of account creation attributed to the service, not a count of unique people or verified victims. Europol was also reported to have cautioned that investigators were still uncovering the network’s full scale.
How were the numbers reportedly used?
IT Pro reported that accounts created through the service could serve as starting points for social-engineering campaigns. The crimes described in the coverage included phishing and smishing, fraud on second-hand marketplaces, investment scams, fake online shops and bank websites, and impersonation of police officers. The reports also attributed references to extortion, migrant smuggling and distribution of child sexual abuse material to Europol.
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These are reported uses and alleged offences facilitated by the service. They do not establish that every account was used for every crime, or that every allegation has been adjudicated. Europol was quoted in IT Pro’s coverage as saying the network enabled clients to commit serious crimes while masking perpetrators’ identities.
What the reported figures do—and do not—measure
- More than 49 million: online accounts reportedly created through the service, attributed by IT Pro and TechRadar Pro to Europol. This is not a victim or individual-person count.
- More than 80 countries: the reported geographic reach of the telephone numbers offered by the service.
- 1,200 devices, 40,000 active SIM cards and five servers: infrastructure reportedly seized or taken down.
- Seven arrests and 26 searches: operation figures reported by IT Pro and TechRadar Pro, respectively.
These measures describe different things: account volume, the service’s number coverage, seized infrastructure, and law-enforcement activity. They should not be treated as interchangeable measures of harm.
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Why reported loss estimates differ
IT Pro and TechRadar Pro gave different currency presentations for estimated losses in Austria and Latvia: one reported dollar-denominated estimates and the other euro-denominated totals. Without a verified primary account establishing their calculation bases, those figures should not be added together or compared as if they were directly equivalent.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What users can take from the takedown
The reports describe a service that made it easier to create accounts at scale and conceal the people behind them; they do not show that a particular account or phone number belongs to a criminal. For general protection against SIM-related account risks, Europol’s separate SIM-swapping guidance advises using two-factor authentication methods other than SMS when possible and limiting personal information shared online. That is general safety advice, not a mitigation instruction issued specifically for Operation SIMCartel: Europol’s SIM-swapping advice.
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