As part of an effort led by law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries, an international cybercrime operation against online fraud resulted in the arrests of 651 people and the recovery of more than $4.3 million.
The initiative, codenamed “Operation Red Card 2.0,” ran from December 8, 2025 to January 30, 2026, Interpol said. The attack targeted the infrastructure and attackers behind high-yield investment fraud, mobile money fraud, and fraudulent mobile loan applications.
Countries participating in the law enforcement operations included Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This was carried out under the African Joint Operation Against Cybercrime (AFJOC).
“During an eight-week operation, the investigation uncovered fraud associated with financial losses of over $45 million and identified 1,247 victims, primarily from the African continent, but also from other parts of the world,” Interpol said in a press release.
In this operation, authorities seized 2,341 devices and also took down 1,442 malicious IPs, domains, servers, and other related infrastructure. Some notable examples are listed below.
Nigerian authorities have dismantled a high-yield investment fraud ring that recruited young people to carry out cybercrime using phishing, identity theft, social engineering and fake digital asset investment schemes. Over 1,000 fraudulent social media accounts removed. Six members of a sophisticated cybercrime syndicate have been arrested by Nigerian authorities for infiltrating the internal platforms of a major telecommunications provider by compromising staff login credentials. The plan involved stealing “large amounts of airtime and data for illegal resale.” Kenyan authorities have arrested 27 people in connection with a fraud scheme that used messaging apps, social media and fictitious testimonials to trick victims into making fake investments with promises of huge profits. Victims were shown fake account statements and dashboards to continue the ruse, but were prevented from making withdrawals. Ivorian authorities have arrested 58 people and seized 240 mobile phones, 25 laptops and more than 300 SIM cards, luring them with promises of unsecured loans, entrapment with additional fees, abusive debt collection practices and theft of sensitive personal and financial data, in a bid to thwart a predatory mobile loan fraud scheme that primarily targets vulnerable populations through fake mobile applications and messaging services.
“These organized cybercrime syndicates inflict devastating economic and psychological harm on individuals, businesses and entire communities through false promises,” said Neil Jetton, director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate.
“Operation Red Card highlights the importance of cooperation in combating transnational cybercrime. We encourage all victims of cybercrime to seek help from law enforcement.”
The second phase of the red card comes almost a year after Interpol announced the arrest of 306 suspects and the seizure of 1,842 devices as part of the first wave of operations that took place between November 2024 and February 2025.
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