INTERPOL co-led operation identifies 34 suspicious trafficking cases and 27 potential victims on subscription content platforms

INTERPOL published the results of Operation CyberProtect III, a four-day law enforcement hackathon co-organized with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that targeted the use of subscription-based content platforms to facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The operation involved seven European countries and produced 34 suspicious cases, 18 suspect profiles and 27 potential victims. It reinforced an INTERPOL Purple Notice issued in February 2026 that warned of criminal groups posing as modelling agencies, taking control of victims' accounts and coercing women, minors and vulnerable adults into increasingly explicit content production. During the operation, 14 officers reviewed websites, social media, messaging apps and subscription platforms to detect red flags linked to what INTERPOL described as "e-pimping." The findings pointed to recruiters using encrypted messaging services to target victims, including requests for nude images without age verification, and to traffickers exploiting the paywalled structure and coded language of subscription sites to avoid detection. INTERPOL also highlighted evidence of content producers being bought and sold through large messaging groups, the use of cryptocurrencies and diamond emojis as payment mechanisms, social media exchanges of exploitation tactics among managers, and the use of artificial intelligence to generate fake profiles. South America featured prominently in advertisements involving female models, indicating a key region of origin for both real-life and virtual sexual exploitation.