Interpol leads crackdown on cybercrime, arrests over 1200 in Africa, seizes $100 million | #cybercrime | #infosec

The international police organisation, Interpol, coordinated a major cybercrime crackdown named ‘Operation Serengeti 2.0’ that led to the arrest of 1,209 suspects across Africa and the recovery of nearly $97.4 million. Interpol announced on Friday that the operation, which took place between June and August, involved investigators from the United Kingdom and 18 African countries to target the perpetrators of cybercrimes, including inheritance scams, ransomware, and business email compromise.

Interpol said, in a statement, that altogether, nearly 88,000 victims had been duped in the scams and illegal cryptocurrency networks.

Reports of online fraud spiked 3,000 per cent in some African countries last year, said a recent Interpol report.

Besides, cybercrime now makes up more than 30 per cent of all reported crime in West and East Africa, it added.

In a major bust, the Angolan authorities shut down 25 cryptocurrency mining centres, where 60 Chinese nationals were illegally validating digital currency transactions. The authorities seized equipment worth an estimated $37 million. Proceeds from the seizure will go towards improving electricity distribution in the central African country, Interpol said.

In Ivory Coast, officials dismantled a transnational inheritance scam—one of the oldest internet frauds—in which victims pay fees to claim fictitious fortunes, causing losses of about $1.6 million.

In Zambia, investigators targeted a network responsible for an online investment scam in which around 65,000 victims had lost around $300 million through a fraudulent high-return cryptocurrency scam.

“The scammers lured victims into investing in cryptocurrency through extensive advertising campaigns promising high-yield returns. Victims were then instructed to download multiple apps to participate,” Interpol said.

The local authorities in Zambia also disrupted a suspected human trafficking network while locating the scam centre.

Operation Serengeti 2.0 led to the arrest of 1,209 suspected cybercriminals, recovered $97.4 million (€83.2 million), and took down 11,432 malicious infrastructures.

Interpol also said it dismantled a transnational inheritance scam in the Ivory Coast that had originated in Germany. Victims of that scam were tricked into paying fees to claim fake inheritances, causing $1.6 million in losses.

“Despite being one of the oldest-running internet frauds, inheritance scams continue to generate significant funds for criminal organizations,” it said.

Interpol, which celebrated its centennial last year, has 196 member countries and is the world’s largest international police network to combat international crime. It has its headquarters in Lyons, France. It helps various police forces to communicate with each other and track suspects and criminals involved in counterterrorism, financial crime, child pornography, cybercrime, and organiaed crime.

Last year, in the first Operation Serengeti, Interpol arrested 1,006 suspects, dismantled over 134,000 malicious infrastructures, and identified 35,000 victims.

Operation Serengeti ran from September 2 to October 31, 2024, and targeted key cyberthreats, including ransomware, business email compromise, digital extortion, and online scams, collectively linked to nearly USD 193 million in global financial losses.