Brazilian police have seized about $1.71 million in cryptocurrency and frozen bank accounts holding up to 93 million reais ($18.1 million) in an investigation into a cybercrime group accused of using phishing and social engineering to compromise government systems and access sensitive corporate data, the Polícia Civil de Santa Catarina said.
The operation, dubbed ClickFix, was launched on September 10 by the Santa Catarina Civil Police’s Cybercrime Investigation Division, with support from forensic investigators, the Ministry of Justice, and civil police forces in Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.
According to the police, the group used a technique known as ClickFix to trick victims into installing malicious software.
Victims encountered fake browser error messages and were instructed to follow steps to fix the supposed problem, including copying and pasting malicious code directly into their operating system terminals.
The technique allowed the suspects to take control of compromised devices, the police said.
The group also allegedly distributed fraudulent legal summonses using the names of police agencies across Brazil, including the cybercrime division involved in the investigation.
Investigators found that credentials belonging to several Brazilian public agencies had been accessed during the intrusions.
These included systems used by police forces and the judiciary, as well as sensitive information belonging to companies in the financial market supply chain, according to the Polícia Civil de Santa Catarina.
The operation resulted in the execution of 17 search warrants and two arrest warrants targeting the group’s principal members.
Authorities also obtained court orders to seize urban real estate worth 5 million reais that investigators said had been acquired with illicit proceeds, and to freeze bank accounts up to a combined 93 million reais.
The amount was identified through financial transactions considered suspicious and inconsistent with the suspects’ declared income, the police said.
Luxury vehicles were also seized, including a Chevrolet Corvette valued at more than 1.5 million reais. The police did not identify the affected financial-sector companies in their announcement.
The operation also resulted in what the Polícia Civil de Santa Catarina described as the largest seizure by a Brazilian civil police force of cryptocurrency held in self-custody wallets.
Authorities seized approximately $1.71 million in virtual assets, equivalent to about 8.78 million reais, according to the police statement.
The assets were transferred to an institutional account held by the Santa Catarina Civil Police at Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Foxbit, placing them under state custody.
Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis provided support for the operation, the police said.
Self-custody wallets allow cryptocurrency holders to control their assets directly rather than entrusting them to a centralized exchange or other third-party custodian.
The transfer to an account controlled by the police placed the seized assets under government custody as the investigation proceeds.
The police announcement did not specify which cryptocurrencies were seized, identify the suspects or provide details on potential additional arrests.