Africa-Wide Anti-Cyber Scam Operation Arrests 651 Scammers

A coordinated INTERPOL operation across Africa underscores how cyber-enabled fraud has scaled into a transnational security and economic challenge. Operation Red Card 2.0, conducted from 8 December 2025 to 30 January 2026, resulted in 651 arrests, the recovery of more than USD 4.3 million, the seizure of 2,341 electronic devices, and the takedown of 1,442 malicious IPs, domains, and servers.

Authorities linked the investigated schemes to over USD 45 million in financial losses and identified 1,247 victims, predominantly from Africa but also from other regions.

Disrupting Fraud Infrastructure

The operation targeted high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud, and fraudulent mobile loan applications. INTERPOL supported participating states through intelligence sharing, real-time information exchange, and training on digital forensic tools.

Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Director of the Cybercrime Directorate, said: “These organized cybercriminal syndicates inflict devastating financial and psychological harm.”

Operation Red Card highlights the importance of collaboration when combatting transnational cybercrime.

INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime Directorate Neal Jetton

Participating countries included Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The campaign was conducted under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, with additional support from the EU and the Council of Europe’s GLACY-e project.

Nigeria Cases Highlight Modus Operandi

In Nigeria, police dismantled a high-yield investment fraud ring that recruited young operatives to conduct phishing, identity theft, and social engineering. Investigators shut down more than 1,000 fraudulent social media accounts and uncovered a residential property allegedly used as the syndicate’s operational hub.

In a separate Nigerian case, six suspects were arrested for infiltrating a major telecommunications provider’s internal platform using compromised staff login credentials. The group allegedly siphoned airtime and data bundles for illegal resale.

Investment Scams and Vulnerable Targets

Kenyan authorities arrested 27 suspects tied to schemes that used messaging apps, fictitious testimonials, and fabricated dashboards to lure victims with entry investments “as low as USD 50.” Withdrawal requests were “systematically blocked,” investigators said.

In Côte d’Ivoire, law enforcement made 58 arrests connected to mobile loan fraud, seizing 240 mobile phones, 25 laptops, and over 300 SIM cards. Victims were enticed by promises of quick loans, then subjected to hidden fees, abusive collection practices, and illicit data harvesting.

Global Expansion of Scam Syndicates

The findings align with broader warnings about the globalization of cyber-scam syndicates. In April 2025, Reuters cited a UN Office on Drugs and Crime alert describing a “critical inflection point,” noting that Asian crime networks behind billion-dollar scam compounds were expanding into Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.

The UNODC said cyberfraud now rivals drug trafficking in scale, highlighting USD 5.6 billion lost in the U.S. to crypto scams in 2023, including USD 4 billion from “pig-butchering” schemes.

The agency also warned of alliances between scam networks and South American drug cartels for money laundering.

Recent enforcement trends show increasing focus on crypto-linked crime. In November, INTERPOL and AFRIPOL uncovered a USD 562 million crypto fraud network spanning 17 countries, with USD 260 million linked to suspected terror financing. Authorities arrested 83 suspects and seized USD 600,000.

While the operation’s results mark a significant enforcement milestone, investigators stress that scam ecosystems regenerate quickly. Officials say sustained intelligence sharing, financial tracking, and cross-border prosecutions will be essential to convert episodic crackdowns into lasting deterrence.