Metaverse Crimes Catches Interpol’s Attention, Here’s What We Know

The metaverse, exploding in its use-cases for immersive digital ecosystems, is also becoming a playground for tech-savvy criminals. The International Criminal Police Organisation (ICPO), also dubbed Interpol, is now concerned that the crimes are on a rise in the metaverse. These crimes include phishing, money laundering, sexual harassment, data theft, and counterfeiting. The Interpol is now looking at ways to keep a close observation on metaverse-related crimes. The organisation, headquartered in Lyon, France, is now attempting to define ‘crimes in the metaverse’, comparing them to real-life adversities.

The Interpol launched its own metaverse in October 2022 during its 90th General Assembly that was hosted in New Delhi, India.

Following the launch, the organisation noticed that notorious actors were hunting for victims in the digital world and getting away with boat loads of money in largely anonymous transactions.

Jurgen Stock, the Secretary General of the Interpol, believes that the agency must be well-trained to deal with these new-age crimes in time to avoid major catastrophes.

“Criminals are sophisticated and professional in very quickly adapting to any new technological tool that is available to commit crime We need to sufficiently respond to that,” the BBC quoted Stock as saying.

A fully functional virtual universe built on the decentralised blockchain networks, the metaverse technology allows people to exist in a parallel world, digitally. Metaverse natives can meet, work, party, and play in the virtual world as digital avatars.

Social media, gaming, advertising as well as the automobile industries are expected to be beneficiaries of the boom in industrial metaverse adoption.

A recent World Economic Forum blog also predicted that industry bodies are more likely to adopt the metaverse before individuals, that raises the stakes for cyber criminals, who could bag large amounts of funds from metaverse-friendly companies.

The Interpol, which marked its 100th anniversary in January 31, is currently challenged with identifying the frequency and scale of crimes that are targeting metaverse users.

It will be analysing criminal behaviours in the digital ecosystems and take appropriate measures to curb crimes in the coming times.

Last year, the Interpol also unveiled a special investigative unit dedicated to fighting and solving crypto crimes.