Artificial intelligence is enabling 55 percent of reported cybercrimes across Africa, making attacks faster, more scalable, and increasingly difficult for victims and platforms to detect, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026.
The report paints a stark picture of a continent in the midst of a digital transformation that is being exploited by a rapidly industrializing cybercrime ecosystem. With more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025, Africa’s digital growth is creating new opportunities for criminals, while cybercrime legislation remains fragmented and AI readiness in law enforcement agencies is alarmingly low.
The 40-page report, drawing on survey data from 36 African member countries, highlights a defining shift: cyber-criminality has evolved from isolated incidents into an industrialized, borderless ecosystem.
- East Africa has emerged as a hub of mobile money fraud and infrastructure-targeted ransomware.
- Central and West Africa are seeing high volumes of business email compromise and romance scams targeting both corporate and individual victims.
- Southern Africa’s ultra-high connectivity makes it a magnet for global threat actors seeking maximum disruption.
The financial toll of cybercrime in Africa is significant and growing. Since 2024, cybercrime-related losses have more than doubled, from $192 million to $484 million, driven primarily by AI-facilitated scams, credential harvesting, and automated social engineering campaigns.
In 2025, online scams continued to be the most reported type of cybercrime, with attackers leveraging mobile money platforms, social media, and AI to reach their targets. Notably, 72 percent of surveyed countries reported the presence of scam centres, with the highest concentration in Southern and West Africa.
Digital sextortion and online harassment, often facilitated by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media, remained pervasive. TrendAI, one of several partners working with INTERPOL, recorded some 600,000 sextortion detections.
Similarly, the sophistication of Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC) schemes has increased dramatically. AI is now used to generate highly convincing email correspondence, with Africa-based threat actors targeting victims in Europe and North America using infrastructure located across multiple jurisdictions.
The report reveals that the absence of real-time, inter-agency data sharing between banks, telecoms, and law enforcement creates a dangerous blind spot in efforts to combat financial fraud. This vulnerability is being exploited by criminals who have moved beyond simply stealing existing credentials to creating entirely synthetic identities.
Combining real personal data with fabricated elements, these AI-generated digital personas can bypass even advanced biometric verification systems and have been used to open bank accounts, secure mobile loans, and register SIM cards under false names.
Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime unit, said: “Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion. However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled.”
Meaningful transnational progress is visible. In 2025, 17 countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation, including the launch of an online reporting platform in Senegal aimed at enhancing the response to online violations affecting children.
Operational cooperation is also delivering results. Four high-impact cybercrime operations coordinated by INTERPOL, including Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0, collectively led to more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of devices and the recovery of over $100 million.
In its recommendations, the report calls for standardized digital forensic capabilities, enhanced cross-border cooperation, investment in AI literacy among law enforcement officers, and formal public-private partnerships to support effective prevention, detection and response.
The report was produced under INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and benefited from data contributed by partners including Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
