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The FBI is urging remaining ShinyHunters members to contact the bureau after Dutch police arrested a man whom the FBI described as an alleged leader and investigators seized infrastructure. The public appeal, posted September 29, 2026, is a warning and invitation to cooperate—not evidence that the suspect or any other person has been found guilty.
What the FBI said
In a video posted September 29, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said Dutch police had arrested one of ShinyHunters’ alleged leaders. He addressed remaining members directly, arguing that arrests can make people more willing to talk and that seized infrastructure may help investigators determine who is still involved.
“Arrests have a way of changing who is willing to talk, and seized infrastructure has a way of showing us who’s left,” Leatherman said. He urged members to contact the bureau: “You know how to find us, and we know how to find you. I suggest you reach out first while the choice is still yours.” The FBI’s transcript uses “reach out first”; the appeal is commonly characterized as an effort to get members to turn themselves in. The video does not identify what infrastructure was seized or provide technical details about it. Read the FBI announcement and transcript.
What is known about the arrest
The FBI said the Dutch National Police High Tech Crime Unit arrested the suspect under Dutch law. The Associated Press reported that Dutch police arrested a 24-year-old man in Amsterdam on September 15 and that a Rotterdam court ordered him held for a further 90 days on September 29.
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He is a suspect, not a convicted ShinyHunters member. Dutch police also suspected him of attempting to solicit two murders, but police said that suspicion was unrelated to the ShinyHunters investigation. These are separate allegations, and neither should be treated as proven. Associated Press report on the arrest and detention.
The scale of activity cited by the FBI
In its September 29 video description, the FBI said ShinyHunters had allegedly breached more than 140 organizations since the prior year and had obtained at least $70 million in extortion payments over that period. These are figures attributed to the FBI, not independently verified totals.
Leatherman described the group’s reported approach as targeting third-party vendors in cloud-based platforms, stealing sensitive data, and extorting victims with threats to publish it. The FBI announcement contains the agency’s account and its attributed figures.
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What victims should do if they receive a threat
The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s May 15, 2026 public service announcement warns that actors may exaggerate their access, use threatening calls or texts to create pressure, or claim to have sensitive material that does not exist. Its recommendations are general guidance for people facing a suspected incident, not confirmation that a particular threat is genuine.
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- Wait for formal guidance from the affected organization, and verify unusual or urgent contact through a separate, known channel.
- Do not pay or engage with demands. Preserve incident details, including the messages and contact information.
- Report suspected intrusions to IC3 or a local FBI field office.
- Contact the relevant account provider to regain control of affected accounts and secure them.
See the IC3 public service announcement on ShinyHunters for the full guidance.
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