2LT International News

DAKAR, Senegal: Interpol says a coordinated crackdown on cybercrime across 14 African countries has led to the arrest of 260 people accused of running online romance and extortion scams.

The operation, carried out in July and August, targeted schemes in which suspects built fake romantic relationships to defraud victims or blackmailed them with intimate images. More than 1,400 people were targeted, losing nearly US$2.8 million, according to the international police organization.

“Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams,” said Cyril Gout, Interpol’s acting executive director of police services. “The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm.”

National authorities carried out arrests across the continent:

• Ghana: 68 suspects accused of tricking victims with fake shipment fees and recording explicit videos for blackmail.
• Senegal: 22 suspects who allegedly posed as celebrities online, scamming over 100 people out of about $34,000.
• Ivory Coast: 24 suspects accused of using fake profiles to obtain and exploit intimate images.

Headquartered in Lyon, France, Interpol is the world’s largest international police network, with 196 member countries. While best known for facilitating cross-border policing in areas such as counterterrorism, organized crime, and financial fraud, it has increasingly focused on the surge in cybercrime and online child exploitation cases.