Europol Warns Criminal Networks Are Embracing AI, Making Fraud Smarter and Harder to Detect

Organised crime gangs are using artificial intelligence for fraud, data theft, and money laundering, according to a new report by Europol. The European law enforcement agency revealed the extent to which criminals are exploiting the technology and said it has “fundamentally reshaped the organised crime landscape.”

“The same qualities that make AI revolutionary — accessibility, adaptability and sophistication — also make it a powerful tool for criminal networks,” the authors wrote in a press release. “These technologies automate and expand criminal operations, making them more scalable and harder to detect.”

Familiar crimes, enhanced capabilities

While many of the examples provided in Europol’s 2025 E.U. Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment have been previously reported — such as deepfakes being used to impersonate trusted executives, automated ransomware, and AI-generated malware — the report also highlighted lesser-known applications.

Criminals have reportedly been using AI to automate money laundering processes and obfuscate financial transactions, making illicit fund movements harder to track. Europol also said that generative AI is being used to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which may have contributed to a disturbing rise in its volume and related offenses in recent years.

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“It can support the editing of existing CSAM and the creation of new content,” the authors wrote. “Explicit pictures of adults can be manipulated to make the individual look younger or applications can ‘nudify’ non-explicit images.”

In February, Europol announced the arrest of 25 people involved in operating an online platform that used AI to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material worldwide. This marked one of the first cases of its kind and proved difficult due to the absence of a national legislature addressing such AI-generated crimes, the agency said.

The report also speculated on a future in which “fully autonomous AI,” requiring no human interference, “could pave the way for entirely AI-controlled criminal networks, marking a new era in organised crime.”

Nearly all organised crimes leave a digital footprint

With or without AI, Europol says that very little organised crime occurs without some form of digital presence — even for crimes in the physical world. For instance, drug traffickers use digital infrastructure for communication or to gather information about the shipments hiding their products.

Criminal networks are acting as proxies for hybrid threat actors, who blend various tactics in coordinated attacks. These actors find each other in the online spaces, where they can exchange cutting-edge AI and digital tools used for attack.

“In addition, criminal networks operate unhindered by borders or by imprisonment,” the authors wrote, “and integrate beneficial tactics in their operating procedures.”

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The corruption and radicalisation of young people remain a central strategy for organised crime, enabling expansion while shielding leadership from direct prosecution. Europol noted that this has been fuelled by “encrypted communication tools and online platforms that facilitate borderless recruitment, extortion and coordination.” These platforms could include social media or gaming channels.

Criminals are also channeling money into parallel financial systems facilitated by emerging technologies like blockchain to launder their illicit profits. Beyond offering secrecy, these systems are designed to grow criminal wealth through digital asset trading.

“The very DNA of organised crime is changing,” Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said in a press release. “Criminal networks have evolved into global, technology-driven criminal enterprises, exploiting digital platforms, illicit financial flows, and geopolitical instability to expand their influence. They are more adaptable, and more dangerous than ever before.”