AI fuels more than half of cybercrime in Africa as digital scams surge, INTERPOL

Online scams are the most common form of cybercrime in Africa. These include business email compromise, romance scams, mobile money fraud, and ransomware attacks. Different regions face distinct threats: East Africa experiences mobile money fraud and ransomware targeting critical infrastructure, while West and Central Africa see high levels of business email compromise and romance scams.

Artificial intelligence enables criminals to launch faster, more convincing, and larger-scale attacks. Criminals use AI-generated content to create deepfakes for sextortion campaigns, produce realistic emails impersonating trusted contacts, and construct synthetic identities combining real data with fabricated details to open bank accounts and bypass biometric verification systems.

Key obstacles include weak coordination between banks, telecom companies, and law enforcement, lack of real-time information sharing, and inadequate preparedness of African law enforcement agencies to respond to AI-driven threats. These gaps allow criminals to quickly move stolen funds and exploit vulnerabilities across multiple jurisdictions before authorities can intervene.

In 2025, 17 African countries introduced or updated cybercrime legislation. INTERPOL is leading joint international operations that have achieved significant results, including over 1,500 arrests and recovery of over $100 million. Senegal also launched an online reporting platform to improve responses to crimes involving children.