Major operation in Africa targeting online scams nets 651 arrests, recovers $4.3M USD
TL;DR
INTERPOL-supported operation across 16 African countries resulted in 651 arrests and $4.3M recovered, targeting online scams that caused over $45M in losses and affected 1,247 victims.
Source: INTERPOL
Law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries have made 651 arrests and recovered more than $4.3 million USD in an international cybercrime operation supported by INTERPOL against online scams. Operation Red Card 2.0 (Dec. 8, 2025 to Jan. 30, 2026) targeted the infrastructure and actors behind high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud and fraudulent mobile loan applications. During the operation, investigations exposed scams linked to over $45 million USD in financial losses and identified 1,247 victims, predominantly from the African continent but also from other regions of the world. Authorities also seized 2,341 devices and took down 1,442 malicious IPs, domains and servers, as well as other related infrastructure. Full Story