Tech
Microsoft and Japan took down a cybercrime network behind over a billion scam messages
Publication: The Verge
Author: Stevie Bonifield
Source published: 14/10/2026, 20:03:43 UTC
Briefing created: 14/10/2026, 20:18:19 UTC
Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 14/10/2026, 20:16:24 UTC.
Briefings
Microsoft collaborated with Japan's National Police Agency to dismantle a cybercrime marketplace identified as YAM Store, which operated alongside phishing kits named CoGUI and Iron Man. This network generated over one billion scam messages between January 2026 and the present, affecting over 75,000 organizations globally with more than 750 million individual messages. The investigation involved tracking the specific tools used by the scammers to deliver fraudulent communications.
Key points
- Microsoft partnered with Japan's National Police Agency to investigate and dismantle a cybercrime marketplace.
- The identified marketplace, YAM Store, operated alongside phishing kits CoGUI and Iron Man to send over one billion scam messages to over 75,000 organizations worldwide since January 2026.
Context and limitations
The investigation focused on a specific marketplace identified by Microsoft and Japan's National Police Agency. The scope of the data provided covers only the period from January 2026 to the present, and the full list of affected organizations and the complete timeline of the scam campaign are not fully detailed in the available evidence.
Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 14/10/2026, 20:18:19 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.
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