The sting operation targeted criminal networks behind online romance scams and sextortion schemes.
The crackdown, coordinated by Interpol and backed by UK funding, ran from July to August this year.
Investigators traced IP addresses, seized digital infrastructure, and took down 81 cybercrime groups operating across the continent.
In most cases, criminal networks used fake profiles on social media and digital platforms to extract money from victims.
Many of the people targeted would be conned into romance scams, or fall prey to “sextortion.”
What is sextortion?
Sextortion is a form of online blackmail in which criminals obtain or trick someone into sharing private or intimate photos. The criminals then threaten to publish these potentially compromising images unless they are sent money.
During the raids, authorities also confiscated hundreds of devices, SIM cards and forged documents.
Interpol says more than 1 400 victims were identified, while victims lost a combined total of R48 million.
“Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams,” Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, told the BBC.
“The growth of online platforms had opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm.”
Interpol’s director of cyber-crime, Neal Jetton, noted that older people are usually more at risk of falling victim to romance scams.
“Millions of people still click on phishing emails every day,” Jetton added.
Criminals apprehended across Africa
The continent-wide sting resulted in significant arrests in several countries, each exposing different tactics used by scam syndicates. Key findings from the operation include:
Ghana
– 68 suspects arrested
– 835 devices seized, 108 victims identified
– R1.2m recovered from R7.8m in losses
– Schemes included fake courier/customs fees and sextortion via secretly recorded explicit chats
Senegal
– 22 suspects arrested
– 120 victims defrauded of about R590 000
– Scammers posed as celebrities on social media/dating sites
– 65 devices, forged IDs and money transfer records seized
Ivory Coast
– 24 suspects arrested
– 29 devices seized, 809 victims identified
– Used fake online profiles to blackmail victims with threats of exposure
Angola
– 8 suspects arrested
– 28 domestic and international victims identified
– Criminals created fake identities with forged documents to target victims via social media
Further operations under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime project took place in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Rwanda and Zambia.
