Approximately 260 individuals suspected of involvement in sextortion and romance scams were arrested in a major sting operation across 14 African countries, coordinated by Interpol and funded by the UK. The operation targeted criminal networks exploiting social media and digital platforms to defraud victims through romantic deception and blackmail using explicit content. Over 1,400 victims were identified in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Angola, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, with estimated financial losses nearing $2.8 millions.
The crackdown, conducted between July and August 2025, involved law enforcement tracing IP addresses, domains, and social media profiles linked to the scams. Investigators dismantled 81 cybercrime groups, confiscated USB drives, SIM cards, forged documents, and seized hundreds of electronic devices.
In Ghana, authorities arrested around 68 suspects and seized 835 devices. Scammers there used tactics like fake courier and customs fees and secretly recorded intimate videos during explicit chats for blackmail. They recovered $70,000 from an estimated $450,000 in financial damage reported by victims.
Senegal police apprehended 22 individuals who impersonated celebrities online to manipulate emotions and defraud about 120 victims of approximately $34,000. Authorities confiscated 65 devices, forged IDs, and financial records during the crackdown.
In Ivory Coast, 24 suspects were arrested, with 29 devices seized, and 809 victims identified. The scammers used fake online profiles to extort payments from victims threatened with public exposure of private information. In Angola, eight suspects were detained, with 28 victims targeted mainly through social media. Fraudsters there relied on counterfeit documents to create false identities for financial transactions while hiding their real identities.
This large-scale operation is part of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime project, involving countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. Interpol emphasized the growing challenge of digitally enabled crimes like sextortion and romance scams across Africa, which cause both financial and psychological harm to victims.
This coordinated law enforcement effort highlights increasing cross-border cooperation to fight cybercrime and protect vulnerable individuals from online exploitation in Africa. The operation sends a strong message that cybercriminals exploiting romance and sextortion scams will be pursued.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/huge-sting-operation-across-africa-082832065.html
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/world/interpol-arrests-260-online-romance-scam-suspects-africa
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