Police take down 373,000 fake CSAM sites in Operation Alice
Recorded: March 20, 2026, 9 p.m.
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Operation Alice, spearheaded by German law enforcement with substantial support from Europol, successfully dismantled a sophisticated network of approximately 373,000 dark web sites dedicated to the fraudulent distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Initiated in mid-2021, this international operation targeted the “Alice with Violence CP” platform operated by a 35-year-old individual based in China. The core function of this platform was the deceptive advertising and sale of CSAM previews, utilizing fabricated data volumes ranging from several gigabytes to terabytes, enticing users into providing their email addresses and paying between EUR 17 and EUR 215 in Bitcoin. Despite the lack of actual delivery, the operation successfully defrauded approximately 10,000 users of roughly $400,000, revealing demonstrable criminal intent to acquire illegal material. The network’s infrastructure, initially comprising 287 servers, had a significant concentration of servers—105—located within Germany. Following a complete seizure of these servers, German authorities issued an international arrest warrant for the Chinese operator. Investigations led by Europol resulted in the identification of 440 users across 23 countries, with 100 of these individuals currently under investigation. The key significance of this operation stems not solely from the seizure of the fraudulent platform but also from the identification of individuals actively attempting to purchase CSAM, highlighting the persistent demand within criminal networks and demonstrating the effectiveness of law enforcement actions in disrupting these illicit activities. Europol’s broader efforts in child protection are underscored by initiatives such as the Help4U support platform launched in November 2025 and the “Stop Child Abuse – Trace an Object” program, which leverages investigative techniques to identify the sources of CSAM material and subsequently, the perpetrators. The operation’s impact extends beyond the immediate takedown of the fraudulent platform; it serves as a crucial deterrent and a testament to the collaborative efforts undertaken by international law enforcement agencies to combat increasingly complex cybercrime. This operation highlights the ongoing struggle between law enforcement and criminal networks exploiting vulnerabilities within the dark web ecosystem. |