According to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the Metaverse may lead to the emergence of brand-new cybercrimes while also fostering the expansion of already-existing criminal activity.

Interpol member nations are concerned about how to effectively get ready to tackle potential crimes in the immersive community, according to a finding by Reuters. Apart from the potential new methods phishing scams could function, Madan Oberoi, Interpol's executive director for technology and innovation, stated that there are concerns about children's safety in the augmented reality realms.

The first global police Metaverse was just introduced by the international police organisation at the 90th Interpol General Assembly in New Delhi, India.

A virtual recreation of the Interpol General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, will be available for visitors to explore in the Interpol metaverse, according to a news release. Additionally, it will enable avatar-based interoffice communication and might accommodate training sessions, forensic examinations, and other law enforcement activities.

The term 'metaverse' gained popularity in 2021 as investors predicted that the settings of virtual worlds would herald in a new era for the internet. In order to reflect this shift, the dominant social networking site Facebook (NASDAQ:META) changed its name to Meta. However, following the metaverse craze, sales of blockchain-based assets representing virtual land and other digital holdings have sharply decreased. In a report published earlier this month, the law enforcement organisation for the European Union, Europol, warned that terrorist organisations would in the future use virtual worlds for recruiting, training, and propaganda. According to the article, users can even construct virtual worlds with 'extreme regulations.'

According to Europol, if users' activities in metaverse environments are recorded on blockchain, 'this would make it easy to follow everyone someone does based on one interaction with them - offering useful information for stalkers or extortionists.'