Global Scans · Crime · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Crime is morphing away from traditional methods to more sophisticated technological approaches. A decline of traditional hierarchical criminal groups and networks will be accompanied by the expansion of a virtual criminal underground made up of individual criminal entrepreneurs. At the same time, forward-looking agencies are equipping themselves with smart technologies to outfox the criminals. Keep up to date with crime changes below.

• [New] In the next few years, AI-based terrorism could produce forms of attack never imagined in previous eras, including automated attack scripts, measured psychological manipulation, and personalized propaganda-something impossible to do manually. Modern Diplomacy
• [New] Interpol's General Assembly has issued a resolution addressing the growing threat of transnational scam centers, criminal hubs linked to large-scale fraud, human trafficking and abuse, including schemes such as voice phishing, romance scams, investment fraud and cryptocurrency scams. Crypto Briefing
• [New] Interpol has officially designated scam-compound networks, which utilize crypto, as a global threat, emphasizing their links to organized crime, human trafficking, and forced labour. Crypto Briefing
• [New] There is a risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Mexico, it adds. ABC News
• [New] 44% of respondents expressed concern that terrorists or criminal organizations could detonate a nuclear device within US territory within the next ten years, indicating broad anxiety about nuclear security beyond state-level conflicts. Yeni Safak
• [New] The Electronic Frontier Foundation - a non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco - argues that integration of Flock's ALPR technology with its Aerodome drone equipment is a police surveillance combo poised to elevate privacy threats to civilians. Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle
• [New] Cyber cargo theft is becoming a concerning threat to global supply chains, as hackers and organized crime groups collaborate to steal cargo in transit. Tank Transport
• [New] Polish prosecutors opened a terrorism-related investigation, citing the threat of a major rail disaster. SOFREP
• [New] The world can no longer afford to overlook the resurgence of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil, as its spillover effects threaten not only regional but also global security. Modern Diplomacy
• [New] Iran-aligned militias - including groups designated as terrorist organizations - pose a threat to Iraq's stability and sovereignty. SyriacPress
• [New] The current terrorism threat level in the UK is assessed as 'substantial,' indicating that an attack is likely. Travel And Tour World
• [New] In the coming two years, we expect to see many more novel computer vision applications make their way into the mainstream of first world police forces - with predictive policing playing an increasing role in extremely well-funded cities of advanced nations. Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research
• [New] Organized crime groups in Latin America will weaponize drones, AI and new smuggling methods to diversify beyond drug trafficking, escalating risks to corporate security, cyber resilience and supply chains. Yahoo Finance
• [New] The bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act, passed in 2025, makes it a federal crime to publish or threaten to publish nonconsensual intimate images, including deepfakes, and gives platforms 48 hours to remove content and suppress duplicates. / USA Scientific American
• [New] The future of financial crime prevention will belong to institutions that can turn FinCEN's red flags into real-time risk signals, orchestrated by agentic AI, and backed by typology-specific models running in parallel. FinExtra
• [New] Crypto crime risks persist despite 0.14% illicit transaction rate in 2024, with $2.17 B stolen in 2025 alone via stablecoins (63% of illicit transfers). Ainvest
• [New] The Northern California city will restrict the extent to which camera footage from police officers' body-worn cameras can be edited, following an outcry and demands for reform after two officer-involved shootings. Govtech
• [New] The latest ceasefire meant terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan's soil will be stopped immediately. Orion Policy Institute
• [New] People smuggling is an international issue and Germany is a key ally in the fight against the criminal networks who put lives at risk for their own profit. AOL
• [New] The ISF will oversee a Palestinian police force, made up of vetted members trained by Egypt and Jordan. Daily Sabah
• [New] The stabilization troops will help secure border areas along with a trained and vetted Palestinian police force and they will coordinate with other countries to secure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Middle East Eye
• [New] The Big Apple police department has been hemorrhaging cops in recent years, losing more than 14,000 rank and file officers since 2020, with nearly 3,500 more expected to flee in 2025 - and just 8,000 applying to join in 2025 compared to 18,000 in 2017. New York Post
• In Venezuela, the criminal regime of indicted drug trafficker Nicolas Maduro leads one of the largest cocaine trafficking networks in the world, and the United States will continue to seek to bring Maduro and other members of his complicit regime to justice for their crimes. United States Department of State

Last updated: 06 December 2025