Interpol Prepares To Anticipate New Crimes In The Metaverse World

Madan Oberoi, Interpol's executive director for technology and innovation, (photo: twitter @mmoberoi)

JAKARTA - The world's police agency, Interpol, said it was preparing for the risk that online immersive environments such as the "metaverse", could create new types of cybercrime and allow existing crimes to occur on a larger scale.

Madan Oberoi, Interpol's executive director for technology and innovation, Interpol member states have raised concerns about how to prepare for possible metaverse crimes.

"Some crimes may be new in this media, some existing crimes will be activated by the media and taken to a new level," Oberoi told Reuters.

“Phishing and fraud can operate differently when augmented reality and virtual reality are involved,” Oberoi said. “Child safety issues are also a concern.”

Even virtual reality can also facilitate evil in the physical world. "If a terror group wants to attack a physical space, they can use this space to plan and simulate and launch their drills before attacking," he said.

Earlier this month, the European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, said in a report that terror groups may, in the future, be able to use cyberspace for propaganda, recruitment, and training. "Users can also create virtual worlds with extremist rules," the report said.

“If the metaverse environment records user interactions on the blockchain, it makes it possible to follow everything someone does based on a single interaction with them, providing valuable information for stalkers or blackmailers,” Europol said.

Metaverse is becoming a tech buzzword in 2021, when companies and investors are betting that virtual world environments will grow in popularity and mark a new stage in the development of the internet. Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021 to mark its shift towards this idea.

But so far, this vision shows little sign of materializing. The value of Meta shares fell last Thursday as investors voiced skepticism about spending on metaverse bets. Sales of blockchain-based assets representing virtual land and other digital holdings have also fallen sharply after a period of frenetic growth last year.