Interpol crack down on transnational fraud for Nigeria, Kenya and other Africa countries
Di global police agency Interpol tok say law enforcement bodies from 16 African kontris don arrest 651 suspects and recover more dan $4.3 million, for inside one major crackdown against transnational online scams.
For one statement dem release on Wednesday, 19 February, Interpol tok say di operation wey dem name Red Card 2.0, run for eight weeks – e start from 8 December 2025 to 30 January dis year.
E add say Operation Red Card 2.0 bin target di infrastructure and actors behind high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud and fraudulent mobile loan applications.
During di eight-week operation, investigations expose scams wey dey linked to ova USD 45 million in financial losses and dem identify 1,247 victims, wey mostly come from African continent and from oda regions of di world.
Also, authorities also seize 2,341 devices and take down 1,442 malicious IPs, domains and servers, plus oda related infrastructure, di statement add.
“These organized cybercriminal syndicates dey cause serious financial and psychological harm on individuals, businesses plus communities wit dia fake promises,” Neal Jetton, Interpol Director of di Cybercrime Directorate tok.
Some of di kontris wey follow for di operation include Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.
Nigeria na one of di kontris wey di agency mention for di statement. Interpol say police scata plots by one cybercriminal network to 419 pipo through one high-yield investment schemes.
Investigators also delete ova 1000 magomago social media accounts and discover obe building wey dey sesrve as dia criminal base.
For inside anoda separate case for Nigeria, authorities arrest six members of one cybercrime syndicate on top accuse say dem penetrate di internal systems of one telecommunications company wit di assistance of one compromised employee credentials, wey allow dem to siphon airtime and data for illegal resale.
For Kenya, law enforcement agents bin arrest ova 20 suspect wey link to fraud schemes. Di magomago pipo bin dey use messaging apps, social media plus fake testimonies to lure victims to invest for reputable global corporations wit claims of correct returns.
Investigators say dem seize plenty gadgets dem take dey run di illegal operation.
Law enforcement agents for Côte d’Ivoire arrest more dan 50 suspects and dem seize 240 mobile phones, 25 laptops and ova 300 SIM cards for inside targeted operation against mobile loan fraud.
Dem dey use promise of quick, unsecured loans to attract dia victims, only to later impose fees, enforce abusive debt-collection practices and use magomago collect sensitive personal and financial data.
Interpol said it contributed through critical intelligence sharing, as well as real-time information exchange and training on the use of digital forensic tools.
In general, the wider operation exposed scams linked to over $45 million in financial losses and identified over 1000 victims, mostly from Africa.