The metaverse can be used not only to facilitate crime in the physical realm, but it can also be used for various forms of serious cybercrime, a new Interpol warning warns.
Madan Oberoi, INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Technology and Innovation, explained that member states are increasingly concerned about potential reverse crimes and are already coming up with possible remedies.
There are multiple ways in which the metaverse can be misused in crime, he said: “Some crimes may be new to this medium, and some existing crimes will be empowered through the medium and taken to a new level.”
The evolution of phishing
Oberoi stated that one of the most common scams – phishing – can take on a whole new meaning when virtual reality and augmented reality are thrown into the mix. Moreover, the issue of child safety cannot be underestimated.
There are also ways for threat actors to use virtual realities to plan and practice future physical attacks: “If a terrorist group wants to attack a physical space, they can use that space to plan, simulate, and launch pre-attack exercises.”
Many games come with a mapping capability, and with virtual reality, criminals can explore specific locations in frightening detail.
Interpol’s European counterpart – Europol – says it is also on track to tackle future crime, and recently warned that if the metaverse used blockchain technology to record user interaction, it might be possible to “track everything someone does based on a single interaction with them – providing valuable information to stalkers.” or blackmailers.”
Blockchain, the technology that emphasizes Bitcoin (Opens in a new tab) And other cryptocurrencies, it stores data in a decentralized ledger which makes it immutable and imperishable.
Across: Reuters (Opens in a new tab)
