The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is the world’s largest policing agency and supports policing across the world. INTERPOL was founded in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission. It was tasked with investigations, training, and managing law enforcement efforts. These core functions, established over 100 years ago, remain central to INTERPOL’s mission today. Today, INTERPOL tackles every type of crime from terrorism to cyber and organized crime. Within the past few years, INTERPOL has taken on many different operations to tackle international crime. Several operations have helped decrease drug smuggling across South America. Other operations like Operation I-CAN have taken down some of the largest mafias in the world. Aside from taking on criminals across the world, INTERPOL also closely tracks crime online, from fraudsters to hackers. However, none of this is possible without INTERPOL’s close partnership with its 196 member states. Delegates in this committee will be working closely with member states to deal with the largest criminal networks in the world.

Fraud is the most common cybercrime, targeting millions of people every day. These frauds are often disguised as innocent ads or offers. This makes it easy for fraudsters to lure people into giving up financial information. Aside from online scams, fraudsters will also call people and try to obtain personal information. Large, organized fraud operations often come from scam compounds. Here, multiple fraudsters collaborate to scam people globally. These compounds have also been linked to human trafficking networks, where individuals are lured with false job offers or forced through threats and violence to participate in online frauds. This creates a complicated challenge for law enforcement agencies, which must determine how to dismantle criminal networks while also protecting victims who may be trapped within the operations. Elderly and vulnerable people are the most at risk of being defrauded, and this problem grows every year. Countries around the world have begun to work together on fighting these scam compounds. With the creation of Operation Shadow Storm in early 2026, INTERPOL delegates will need to think about how to shut down fraud compounds. This includes finding out where compounds are, who might be victimized within the compounds, and what evidence is needed to prove the fraud. As crime evolves with the internet, INTERPOL must adapt and decide how to deal with this new type of organized crime.