Australian police have participated in a multinational raid on an online cybercrime marketplace, arresting 10 suspects and seizing computers, drugs and cash.
A coalition of law enforcement agencies - including in the US, UK, the Netherlands and Australia - shut down the cybercrime website Genesis Market and executed over 100 arrests around the world on Tuesday.
The invite-only marketplace is used by criminals to buy and sell sensitive data such as login credentials, browsing history and autofill form data, for as little as one Australian dollar.
Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Lee said the investigation identified 36,000 Australian devices for sale on Genesis Market, which had the potential to cause $46 million worth of financial harm to the community.
"Cybercrime is increasing in scale and frequency," Assistant Commissioner Lee said on Thursday.
"For a small cost, individuals with nefarious intentions could purchase a packaged dataset that would allow them to gain access to a victim's government services and online banking."
Investigations are ongoing but police say they have already arrested their highest value targets, including a 31-year-old man at Box Hill in Victoria, who allegedly spent over $50,000 buying information from the marketplace.
Assist Comm Lee urged anyone who believes they may have been affected to take action to protect themselves, advising them to change their passwords and run antivirus software on their devices.
