Over 1,200 arrested in Africa cybercrime crackdown: Interpol

A person looks at the Interpol website showing the page of the "Identify me" campaign in Lyon, central-eastern France, on October 8, 2024, a campaign to identify 46 women whose remains have been found across Europe in unsolved cases, some dating back decades. [AFP]

More than 1,200 people were arrested and some $100 million recovered in a major crackdown against rising cybercrime in Africa, global police organisation Interpol said Friday.

The United Kingdom and 18 African countries carried out the operation dubbed "Serengeti 2.0" between June and August, identifying some 88,000 victims of of fraud and illegal cryptocurrency networks, a statement read.

Reports of online fraud have spiked 3,000 percent in some African countries during the last year, Interpol said in a recent report.

Cybercrime now makes up more than 30 percent of all reported crime in west and east Africa, the report said.

In one bust, the Angolan authorities shut down 25 cryptocurrency mining centres, where Chinese operators were illegally validating digital currency transactions, seizing equipment worth an estimated $37 million.

Proceeds from the seizure will go towards improving electricity distribution in the central African country, Interpol said.

Ivory Coast officers dismantled a transnational inheritance scam — described as "one of the oldest internet frauds" — in which victims pay fees to claim fictitious fortunes, causing losses of about $1.6 million, according to the statement.

And in Zambia, investigators targeted a network responsible for an online investment scam, identifying around 65,000 victims who lost some $300 million.