The global police agency Interpol said it was preparing for the risk that immersive online environments – the “metaverse” – could create new types of cybercrime and allow existing crimes to be carried out on a larger scale. Interpol’s member countries have raised concerns about how to prepare for a potential metaverse crime, Madan Oberoi, Interpol’s executive director of technology and innovation, told Reuters.

“Some of the crimes may be new to this medium, some of the existing crimes will be enabled by the medium and taken to a new level,” he said. Phishing and scams may operate differently when it comes to augmented reality and virtual reality, Oberoi said. Child safety issues were also a concern, he said.

Virtual reality could also make crime easier in the physical world, Oberoi said. “Yes…