Interpol has announced the arrest of 260 suspects across 14 African countries in a sweeping crackdown on online romance and extortion scams, exposing the growing reach and sophistication of digital fraudsters on the continent. The coordinated sting operation, conducted between late July and mid-August 2025 and funded by the UK, targeted criminal networks exploiting social media and digital platforms to deceive and blackmail more than 1,400 victims, causing nearly $2.8 million in financial losses, according to BBC News and Interpol statements.
The operation, dubbed Contender 3.0, was not just a show of force—it was a testament to the power of international cooperation. Authorities from Angola to Zambia joined forces, with support from private sector partners like Group-IB and Trend Micro, to identify IP addresses, digital infrastructure, domains, and social media profiles linked to the scam syndicates. The outcomes were striking: 1,235 electronic devices seized, 81 cybercrime groups dismantled, and a trove of forged documents, USB drives, and SIM cards confiscated, as reported by DW Africa and Interpol’s official release.
Ghana emerged as a central theater in the operation. There, police arrested 68 individuals, seized 835 devices, and identified 108 victims. Investigators determined that victims in Ghana alone lost about $450,000, though $70,000 of that was recovered during the raids. The scams ran the gamut from fake courier and customs shipment fees to elaborate romance cons and sextortion rackets. According to Interpol, scammers would build trust with their targets, sometimes over weeks or even months, before betraying them—often by secretly recording intimate videos during explicit chats and using these recordings for blackmail.
Senegalese authorities uncovered a different twist: a network of 22 suspects who impersonated celebrities and preyed on emotions via social media and dating platforms. Their tactics defrauded 120 victims out of around $34,000. The police seized 65 devices, forged identification documents, and money transfer records, piecing together the web of deceit that had ensnared so many unsuspecting individuals.
In Côte d’Ivoire, police dismantled a cybercrime ring that specialized in creating fake profiles to manipulate vulnerable people into sharing compromising images. Once in possession of these, the scammers would demand payment to prevent public exposure. The scale was staggering: 24 suspects arrested, 29 devices seized, and 809 victims identified, according to DW Africa and Interpol’s public statements.
Angola, too, was not spared. Authorities there arrested eight individuals and identified 28 domestic and international victims. Many were targeted through social media, where criminals used fraudulent documents to create convincing fake identities. These false personas helped scammers facilitate financial transactions while concealing their real identities—a tactic that’s become increasingly common in digital fraud, as highlighted by BBC News.
But it wasn’t just four countries in the crosshairs. The operation extended to Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia, demonstrating the transnational nature of these crimes and the need for a united front. The African Joint Operation against Cybercrime project, which underpinned the sting, is a clear sign that law enforcement agencies across the continent—and their partners abroad—are taking the threat seriously.
Interpol’s director of cybercrime, Neal Jetton, described the emotional manipulation at play in these schemes. “It doesn’t take long before you develop a connection with somebody... and very quickly this trust is shattered,” Jetton told BBC Newsday. He emphasized that while people of all ages fall victim, “typically a lot of these scams do affect older people.” Jetton added, “Whenever we ask a country to rank your top cyber threat, without fail, it is always online scams. It is very difficult to combat these kinds of crimes—millions of people click on [phishing emails] per day.”
Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, echoed these concerns, noting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams. “The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm,” Gout said in Interpol’s official statement. He stressed the agency’s commitment to “disrupting and dismantling the groups that prey on vulnerable individuals online.”
What makes these scams so pernicious is their personal nature. In romance scams, fraudsters create fake profiles, often using stolen images and forged identities, to lure victims into emotional relationships. Once trust is established, the requests for money begin—sometimes for fake emergencies, other times for fabricated fees. In sextortion cases, the betrayal is even more acute: explicit images or videos, often obtained under false pretenses, become weapons for blackmail. The psychological toll on victims can be devastating, compounding the financial losses.
The crackdown’s success owes much to international intelligence sharing and technological collaboration. The exchange of Interpol cyber activity reports enabled swift enforcement actions, while partnerships with cybersecurity firms provided critical insights into the scammers’ digital footprints. This approach, Interpol argues, is essential as cybercrime becomes ever more complex and borderless.
Yet, the fight is far from over. The 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report, released by Interpol in June, revealed that two-thirds of surveyed African member countries consider cyber-related offenses to be a medium-to-high proportion of all crime. As digital platforms proliferate and more people connect online, the opportunities for criminals only multiply.
For now, the 260 arrests and the dismantling of dozens of cybercrime groups are a significant blow to the networks that have profited from deception and exploitation. But as Interpol and its partners acknowledge, vigilance and cooperation will be crucial to staying ahead of ever-evolving online threats. The message is clear: the days of impunity for romance scammers and digital extortionists are numbered, but the battle for online safety continues.
