An expansive operation coordinated by Interpol has led to the apprehension of approximately 260 suspects across 14 African countries. These individuals are believed to be part of sophisticated criminal networks that exploit social media and digital platforms to defraud victims through romance scams and sextortion schemes. These scams often involve blackmail using explicit imagery, causing profound financial and psychological distress.
The crackdown, supported by UK funding, successfully identified over 1,400 victims throughout Africa, with preliminary estimates indicating financial losses nearing $2.8 million. Interpol has emphasized its dedication to dismantling criminal organizations that target individuals in the online space.
During a concentrated enforcement period between July and August, law enforcement agencies gathered crucial intelligence, including IP addresses and digital infrastructure linked to the scam syndicates. This information facilitated numerous arrests and led to the seizure of various digital devices, forged documents, and other incriminating materials. Interpol reported the successful dismantling of 81 cybercrime infrastructures across the continent as a direct result of this operation.
Cyril Gout, Interpol’s acting executive director of police services, noted a significant increase in digital crimes such as sextortion and romance scams, attributing this trend to the growing reliance on online platforms, which present new avenues for criminal exploitation. He highlighted the dual harm caused by these crimes – both financial loss and severe psychological impact on victims.
The operation yielded particularly significant results in Ghana, where 68 suspects were arrested, leading to the seizure of 835 devices and the identification of 108 victims. Ghanaian authorities recovered approximately $70,000 out of an estimated $450,000 in financial losses attributed to schemes involving fake courier fees and blackmail using secretly recorded intimate videos.
In Senegal, the operation led to 22 arrests, uncovering a network that used celebrity impersonations and emotional manipulation on social media and dating apps to defraud 120 victims of roughly $34,000. Law enforcement officials confiscated 65 devices, forged identification, and money transfer records.
Similarly, in Ivory Coast, 24 suspects were apprehended, with 29 devices seized and 809 victims identified. These scammers employed fake online profiles to extort payments from victims, threatening to expose sensitive information publicly.
Angola saw the arrest of eight suspects who targeted 28 domestic and international victims, primarily through social media. Fraudulent documents were used to create false identities, enabling illicit financial transactions and obscuring the perpetrators’ true identities.
The operation, part of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, also involved law enforcement agencies from Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia.