Interpol arrests 1,000 cybercrime suspects across Africa
More than 1,000 people suspected of cybercrimes were arrested in 19 African countries between September and October, Interpol announced Tuesday.
Operation Serengeti – led by Interpol and Afripol, the African Union’s policing organization – targeted people suspected of cybercrimes, including those using ransomware, digital extortion, online scams and phishing schemes.
More than 35,000 victims were identified, with cases linked to nearly $193 million in financial losses worldwide, Interpol said.
“From multilevel marketing scams to credit card fraud on an industrial scale, the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks is of serious concern,” said Valdecy Urquiza, Interpol’s secretary general.
According to Interpol’s report on its operation, officers in Kenya arrested nearly two dozen people linked to $8.6 million in credit card fraud. Eight people, including five Chinese nationals, were arrested in Senegal on charges related to an online Ponzi scheme with more th 1,800 victims. And authorities in Nigeria arrested a man suspected of orchestrating online investment scams related to cryptocurrency, who is believed to have profited over $300,000.
As part of Interpol’s operation, authorities in Cameroon also arrested a group suspected of trafficking people from seven countries; the victims were forced by this group to run a multilevel marketing scam, according to Interpol’s statement.
The trafficking victims were lured in by promises of employment, but once in Cameroon, they were held captive and coerced into luring others into the scheme to gain their freedom.
Many people who work in online scam operations are trafficking victims, according to a U.N. report. Earlier this month, Interpol officials discovered several other cases in Africa involving trafficking victims suffering “physical and psychological abuse” who were forced to work in pyramid schemes.
“Cybercrime is a major challenge facing the world,” World Cyber Crime Index researchers wrote, “with the most sober cost estimates in the hundreds of millions, but with high-end estimates in the trillions.”
Some cyber-based extortion incidents have even led to death. Others have used artificial intelligence to impersonate uniformed and deployed military personnel, preying on lonely victims seeking romance for money.
According to the World Cybercrime Index, the majority of cybercrime originates from Russia, Ukraine, China, the United States and Nigeria.
“Operation Serengeti shows what we can achieve by working together,” said Urquiza. “We know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will continue targeting these criminal groups worldwide.”