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Police across 16 African countries have reportedly arrested over 650 suspected cybercriminals and recovered more than US$4.3 million in a major international operation targeting online scams.
The effort, dubbed Operation Red Card 2.0 and coordinated by INTERPOL, focused on criminal networks behind investment fraud, mobile money scams, and fake loan schemes that have defrauded thousands of victims worldwide.
The operation, according to Africanews, ran from December 2025 through January 2026 and identified at least 1,247 victims, seizing more than 2,300 electronic devices used in the scams.
Authorities also shut down over 1,400 malicious websites, servers, and internet addresses linked to the schemes, which are associated with over $45 million in global financial losses.
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Several arrests were connected to high-yield investment scams where fraudsters used social media and messaging apps to lure victims. Fake testimonials and fabricated account dashboards often convinced victims that their investments were growing, only for the scammers to block withdrawals.
In Côte d’Ivoire, police dismantled a mobile loan fraud network exploiting vulnerable users through deceptive apps offering “quick loans,” while illegally collecting personal and financial data.
In Nigeria, authorities apprehended members of a cybercrime group accused of accessing a major telecom company’s internal system with stolen employee credentials, diverting airtime and data bundles for resale.
INTERPOL officials emphasized that the operation underscores the growing scale of organized cybercrime and the urgent need for international cooperation to tackle cross-border fraud networks.
Investigations remain ongoing in several countries involved.
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