About 260 suspected cybercriminals have been arrested across 14 African countries in a major sting operation targeting sextortion and romance scams, Interpol announced on Friday.
The crackdown, which ran from July to August and was funded by the United Kingdom, focused on criminal networks using social media and digital platforms to blackmail or defraud victims. Interpol said the suspects lured people into fake relationships, obtained explicit content, and then used it to extort money.
“It doesn’t take long before you develop a connection with somebody… and very quickly this trust is shattered,” Interpol’s director of cybercrime, Neal Jetton, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
More than 1,400 victims were identified in Ghana, Kenya, Angola, Ivory Coast, Senegal and other countries, with estimated losses of nearly $2.8m. Interpol noted that while people of all ages were affected, older people were most commonly targeted.
In Ghana, 68 suspects were arrested, 835 devices seized, and 108 victims identified. Authorities recovered $70,000 linked to scams that included fake courier fees and customs charges. Investigators also discovered that scammers secretly recorded explicit chats and used the footage to blackmail victims.
In Senegal, police arrested 22 suspects who impersonated celebrities to defraud 120 victims of about $34,000. A further 24 suspects were arrested in Ivory Coast, where police identified more than 800 victims and seized 29 devices.
Angolan authorities arrested eight suspects and uncovered 28 victims, while forged IDs, SIM cards, and USB drives were seized across several countries. Interpol said 81 cybercrime groups were taken down during the joint operation.
“Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams,” said Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol. “The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm.”
Other countries involved included Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
Jetton said the global police network remains committed to dismantling syndicates that prey on vulnerable people online. “Whenever we ask a country to rank your top cyber threat, without fail, it is always online scams,” he added.
