Major operation in Africa targeting online scams nets 651 arrests, recovers USD 4.3 million

LYON, France – Law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries have made 651 arrests and recovered more than USD 4.3 million in an international cybercrime operation against online scams.

Operation Red Card 2.0 (8 December 2025 to 30 January 2026) targeted the infrastructure and actors behind high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud and fraudulent mobile loan applications.

During the eight-week operation, investigations exposed scams linked to over USD 45 million in financial losses and identified 1,247 victims, predominantly from the African continent but also from other regions of the world. Authorities also seized 2,341 devices and took down 1,442 malicious IPs, domains and servers, as well as other related infrastructure.

INTERPOL supported the operation through critical intelligence sharing, real-time information exchange and capacity-building activities, including training on digital forensic tools.

In Kenya, authorities made 27 arrests linked to fraudulent investment schemes. Kenya: Victims were shown fabricated account statements by scammers In Nigeria police took down a fraud ring that used phishing, identity theft and social engineering to scam victims. Nigeria: Police seized a residential property constructed by the syndicate ringleader to serve as the operational hub. Nigerian authorities had a separate major success when they dismantled a cybercrime syndicate that infiltrated the internal platform of a major telecommunications provider. /

Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Director of the Cybercrime Directorate, said:

“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. I encourage all victims of cybercrime to reach out to law enforcement for help.”

The architecture of fraud: Key cases reveal diverse scam models

During Operation Red Card 2.0, INTERPOL worked closely with its partners, Cybercrime Atlas, Team Cymru, Trend Micro, TRM Labs and Uppsala Security, leveraging their data and expertise to provide critical intelligence to participating countries.

The operation was conducted under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC) , an initiative funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

The Global Action on Cybercrime Enhanced (GLACY-e) project, a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe, provided operation-specific support.

Participating member countries

Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.