651 arrested, $4.3 million recovered in African cybercrime sweep
Operation Red Card 2.0, supported by INTERPOL and involving law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries, led to 651 arrests and the recovery of more than $4.3 million from online scams.
In Nigeria police took down a fraud ring that used phishing, identity theft and social engineering to scam victims (Source: Interpol)
Running from 8 December 2025 to 30 January 2026, the operation targeted networks behind high-yield investment fraud, mobile money scams and fraudulent loan applications that caused more than $45 million in losses.
Investigators identified 1,247 victims, most of them in Africa, seized 2,341 devices and shut down 1,442 IP addresses, domains and servers used to support the activity.
“These organized cybercriminal syndicates inflict devastating financial and psychological harm on individuals, businesses and entire communities with their false promises. Operation Red Card highlights the importance of collaboration when combatting transnational cybercrime,” Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Director of the Cybercrime Directorate, said.
Police detail arrests and takedowns in African cybercrime operation
Nigerian police dismantled a high-yield investment fraud ring that recruited young people to carry out phishing, identity theft, social engineering and fake digital asset investment schemes, taking down more than 1,000 fraudulent social media accounts.
In a separate case, six members of a cybercrime syndicate were arrested for breaching a major telecommunications provider using stolen employee credentials.
Kenyan authorities arrested 27 suspects linked to fraud networks that used social media and messaging platforms to lure victims into bogus investment schemes.
In Côte d’Ivoire, police arrested 58 suspects during a crackdown on mobile loan fraud targeting users through deceptive apps.
This is the latest INTERPOL operation targeting cybercrime in Africa, following a series of actions in recent years that have led to thousands of arrests and the takedown of multimillion-dollar criminal networks.