Europol warns AI is changing ‘DNA’ of organized crime

Posted on March 19, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
Europol warns AI is changing the ‘DNA’ of organized crime 
Source: Unsplash
We’ve been hearing about AI-accelerated fraud almost from the moment ChatGPT launched in November of 2022. 
It comes in a lot of forms, ranging from deepfaked audio to deepfaked imagery and text, often designed in some way to trick you or your loved ones into giving money to fraudsters. And according to Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, the tech isn’t just accelerating small-time fraudsters; it’s enabling a vast network of organized crime. 
The details: In a new report, Europol said that artificial intelligence is vastly expanding “the speed, scale and sophistication of organized crime, creating an even more complex and rapidly evolving threat landscape for law enforcement.”
Using large language models (LLMs) and generative AI — which has been designed to be highly accessible and user-friendly — criminal organizations are able to easily overcome language barriers, target global victims “with precision,” create sophisticated malware and produce child sexual abuse imagery. Armed thusly, they can extort, blackmail, impersonate, discredit and deceive victims. Massive phishing campaigns can now be automated; large-scale cyber attacks can be executed with ease and precision; and the potential rise of even more autonomous systems “could pave the way for entirely AI-controlled criminal networks, marking a new era in organized crime.” 
This is a level of autonomy that just about every developer is working hard to achieve. 
“The same qualities that make AI revolutionary — accessibility, adaptability and sophistication — also make it a powerful tool for criminal networks,” according to the report. 
The landscape: In late February, Europol arrested 25 people for the illegal production and distribution of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, one of the first cases of its kind. 
“The very DNA of organized crime is changing,” Catherine De Bolle, Europol’s executive director, said. Tackling it requires a global collaboration that prioritizes victim protection, leveraging those same new technologies being used by criminals to fight the source of the crime at its roots. 
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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