INTERPOL, in collaboration with authorities throughout Africa, has arrested 1,209 suspected cybercriminals and dismantled 11,432 malicious on-line infrastructures in one of many largest crackdowns on cybercrime within the area.
The operation, codenamed Serengeti 2.0, ran from June to August 2025 and led to the restoration of $97.4 million linked to on-line fraud focusing on almost 88,000 victims.
The operation introduced collectively investigators from 18 African nations and the UK to deal with high-impact cybercrimes, together with ransomware, enterprise e-mail compromise (BEC), and on-line scams—threats highlighted in INTERPOL’s newest Africa Cyberthreat Evaluation Report.
In response to a press release from INTERPOL, intelligence supplied forward of the raids included suspicious IP addresses, domains, and command-and-control servers, whereas personal sector companions contributed experience in monitoring crypto crimes, ransomware evaluation, and digital forensics.
Crypto mines, on-line fraud, and inheritance scams
In Angola, police shut down 25 unlawful cryptocurrency mining centres operated by 60 Chinese language nationals. Authorities additionally confiscated 45 illicit energy stations and IT gear price greater than $37 million, which the federal government now plans to repurpose for energy distribution in underserved areas.
- Zambia emerged as one other hotspot, the place legislation enforcement uncovered a large-scale on-line funding fraud that duped 65,000 victims into cryptocurrency scams, leading to estimated losses of $300 million.
- Fifteen suspects had been arrested, and investigators seized domains, bank accounts, and cell numbers tied to the fraudulent scheme. Zambian authorities additionally disrupted a suspected human trafficking community, seizing 372 cast passports from seven nations.
- In the meantime, Côte d’Ivoire cracked a transnational inheritance rip-off that originated in Germany. Police arrested the ringleader and seized money, automobiles, electronics, and jewelry linked to the fraudulent operation, which triggered losses of $1.6 million.
Regardless of being one of many oldest types of web fraud, inheritance scams proceed to generate tens of millions for organized crime teams, INTERPOL famous.
Cross-border cooperation delivering outcomes
Secretary Basic of INTERPOL, Valdecy Urquiza, hailed the operation as a testomony to worldwide collaboration.
“Every INTERPOL-coordinated operation builds on the final, deepening cooperation, growing data sharing and growing investigative expertise throughout member nations. With extra contributions and shared experience, the outcomes continue to grow in scale and affect,” Urquiza stated.
The operation was carried out underneath the African Joint Operation in opposition to Cybercrime, with funding assist from the UK Overseas, Commonwealth and Growth Workplace.
It additionally obtained backing from business gamers akin to Fortinet, Group-IB, Kaspersky, Pattern Micro, and TRM Labs, amongst others.
What you must know
Cybercrime stays one of many fastest-growing safety threats globally, with African nations more and more focused as a result of rising digital adoption.
INTERPOL’s Africa Cyberthreat Evaluation Report lately launched reveals that ransomware assaults proceed to escalate throughout Africa, with Nigeria rating third on the continent with 3,459 ransomware risk detections in 2024.
The report additionally indicated that cybercrime has grow to be a dominant safety concern throughout Africa, with greater than 30% of all reported crimes in Western and Jap areas linked to cyber exercise.
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