An INTERPOL-led law enforcement operation against online scams has nabbed 651 suspects across 16 African countries. The detained individuals were suspected of victimizing 1,247 individuals, predominantly across Africa but also from other parts of the world, resulting in losses amounting to over $45 million.
Dubbed Operation Red Card 2.0, it took place between December 8, 2025, and January 30, 2026. INTERPOL assisted African law enforcement authorities with critical intelligence sharing, real-time information exchange, and capacity-building activities.
The first leg of Operation Red Card took place between November 2024 and February 2025, during which INTERPOL arrested 306 suspects and seized 1,842 electronic devices.
Law enforcement operation dismantles cybercrime infrastructure in Africa
The law enforcement operation dismantled cybercrime infrastructure that facilitated online scams, including 1,442 malicious IP addresses, domains, and servers.
It also yielded 2,341 electronic devices, which would later undergo forensic analysis to determine the scope of the online scams, potentially leading to the arrest of other suspects or aid in the prosecution of the detainees.
Additionally, law enforcement authorities seized potential proceeds of cybercrime worth about $4.3 million during the operation.
“Cybercrime does not respect borders. The infrastructure behind online scams, mobile fraud, and investment schemes is global, fast-moving, and designed to stay ahead of fragmented, isolated enforcement,” said Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist & Global Vice President of Threat Intelligence with Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs. “Criminal networks reuse the same hosting providers, social platforms, messaging channels, and monetization paths across regions, which allows their fraud operations to scale, regroup, and persist even after individual takedowns.
651 suspects linked to online scams in Africa arrested
INTERPOL said 651 individuals involved in online scams ranging from high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud, and fraudulent loan applications were arrested.
Africa has achieved significantly deeper mobile money penetration compared to other parts of the world, with these platforms serving as the primary banking and payment mechanism in several regions. While driving financial inclusion, this widespread adoption has also created a large pool of victims for cybercriminals.
In Nigeria, the law enforcement operation dismantled a cybercrime ring that recruited young individuals to carry out online scams, including high-yield investment fraud, fake investment schemes, phishing, social engineering, and identity theft. It also took down over 1,000 fraudulent social media accounts used in cybercrime.
Still in the most populous African country, authorities slapped the cuffs on six individuals linked to a sophisticated cybercrime operation that breached a telecommunications company using employees’ compromised login credentials. They subsequently abused their access to steal significant amounts of airtime and data from unsuspecting customers for resale at discounted prices.
In Kenya, authorities arrested 27 individuals linked to fake investment schemes in reputable global companies. The suspected fraudsters lured victims into making deposits, sometimes as little as $50, by promising huge returns and displaying fabricated dashboards and fake testimonials. However, the victims eventually lost their funds as their withdrawal requests were blocked.
In the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire, 58 suspects were placed behind bars, and 240 mobile phones, 25 laptops, and over 300 SIM cards used in predatory mobile loan schemes, seized during the law enforcement operation.
The suspects targeted vulnerable populations that typically do not qualify for ordinary bank loans with enticing offers of unsecured loans. However, they slapped the borrowers with extra hidden fees and engaged in predatory debt collection practices and theft of personal information.
Besides Nigeria, Kenya, and Cote d’Ivoire, other participating countries included Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
INTERPOL eyes Africa on cybercrime
INTERPOL has conducted other law enforcement operations across Africa, nabbing thousands of suspects involved in online scams.
In Operation Serengeti, which took place between September 2 and October 3, 2024, across 19 African countries, INTERPOL, working with Afripol, arrested 1,006 individuals involved in online scams that cost victims nearly $193 million. The detainees were suspected of involvement in ransomware, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and cyber extortion. The operation also dismantled 134,089 cybercrime networks and infrastructure.
In April 2023, INTERPOL and Afripol conducted Operation Africa Cyber Surge across 25 African countries. The operation resulted in the arrest of 14 individuals involved in multimillion-dollar online scams and the dismantling of 20,674 suspected cybercrime networks.
