The FBI has urged remaining ShinyHunters members to contact investigators after Dutch police arrested a man described by authorities as a suspected member and alleged leader of the cybercrime group. In a September 29, 2026 video, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman said the arrest and seized infrastructure could help investigators identify who remains. The suspect has not been convicted, and the FBI did not publicly detail the infrastructure in the video.
What the FBI said
Leatherman addressed remaining members directly in the FBI’s September 29 video. He said arrests can change who is willing to cooperate and that seized infrastructure can help investigators determine who is still involved:
“Arrests have a way of changing who is willing to talk, and seized infrastructure has a way of showing us who’s left.”
He urged members to make contact before investigators reach them: “You know how to find us, and we know how to find you. I suggest you reach out first while the choice is still yours.” The transcript’s wording is to “reach out first”; the message amounts to an appeal to surrender or cooperate, rather than an announcement that remaining members had done so. The video does not identify the suspect or specify what infrastructure was seized. FBI video and transcript
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What is known about the arrest
The FBI said the Dutch National Police High Tech Crime Unit arrested one alleged ShinyHunters leader under Dutch law. The Associated Press reported that Dutch police arrested a 24-year-old Amsterdam man on September 15 and that a Rotterdam court ordered him held for a further 90 days on September 29.
Dutch police reportedly suspected the man of involvement in ShinyHunters and separately suspected him of attempted solicitation of two murders. Police said that second suspicion was unrelated to the ShinyHunters investigation. These are allegations and suspicions, not findings of guilt; the cited reporting does not report a conviction. Associated Press report
What the FBI alleges about ShinyHunters
Leatherman described the group as targeting third-party vendors in cloud-based platforms, stealing sensitive data and extorting victims by threatening to publish it. In the video description, the FBI said the group had allegedly breached more than 140 organizations and obtained at least $70 million in extortion payments since the prior year. Those are FBI-attributed allegations, not independently verified totals.
The FBI’s May 15, 2026 public service announcement describes ShinyHunters as a cybercriminal group associated with large-scale data breaches and extortion. It also warns that actors may exaggerate their access, apply pressure through threatening calls or texts, or claim to have sensitive material that does not exist. FBI/IC3 public service announcement
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What victims should do if contacted
The FBI/IC3 guidance is aimed at people who receive threats or suspect an account or organization has been compromised. It recommends:
- Wait for formal guidance from the institution involved, and verify unusual or urgent contact through a separate, known channel.
- Do not pay or engage with demands.
- Report suspected intrusions to IC3 or a local FBI field office, and retain relevant incident details.
- Contact the affected account provider to regain control and secure the account.
These steps are general FBI guidance; they do not establish that any particular message or claim is genuine.
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