25 March 2025 , 11:15
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A large-scale cybercrime operation across seven African nations has uncovered thousands of victims and resulted in hundreds of arrests.
Authorities in seven African countries arrested 306 people and seized 1,842 devices in a coordinated effort to dismantle cross-border cybercrime networks, Interpol announced Monday.
The operation, dubbed Red Card, took place between November 2024 and February 2025 across Benin, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo and Zambia. It targeted scams involving mobile banking, investment fraud and messaging apps, uncovering more than 5,000 victims.
In Nigeria, police arrested 130 suspects, including 113 foreign nationals, for allegedly running scams such as online casino and investment fraud. Investigators said the suspects laundered profits through digital assets to avoid detection. Many were reportedly recruited from different countries to operate the schemes in various languages.
Nigerian authorities said some individuals working in the scam centers were likely victims of human trafficking, forced or coerced into taking part in the operations. Police confiscated 26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land and 685 devices during the investigation in that country.
In South Africa, authorities arrested 40 suspects and recovered over 1,000 SIM cards and 53 computers linked to a SIM box fraud scheme. Criminals used SIM boxes to reroute international calls as local ones, which enabled large-scale SMS phishing attacks, according to Interpol.
Zambian police dismantled a hacking ring and arrested 14 suspects. The gang allegedly sent malicious links that, once clicked, installed malware giving hackers control over victims’ phones and messaging apps—including access to banking apps. The hackers then spread the malware by using the victims’ messaging apps to target others.
In Rwanda, authorities arrested 45 people accused of stealing more than $305,000 in 2024 through social engineering scams. The suspects allegedly posed as telecommunications workers or pretended to be injured family members to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or transferring money.
“The recovery of significant assets and devices, as well as the arrest of key suspects, sends a strong message to cybercriminals that their activities will not go unpunished,” said Neal Jetton, director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate.
Technology & Business Editor