• INTERPOL Operation Red Card 2.0 Arrests 651 in African Cybercrime Crackdown An international cybercrime operation against online scams has led to 651 arrests and recovered more than $4.3 million as part of an effort led by law enforcement agencies from 16 African countries. • The initiative, codenamed Operation Red Card 2.0, took place between December 8, 2025 and January 30, 2026, according to INTERPOL. • It targeted infrastructure and actors behind high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud, and fraudulent mobile loan applications. • Countries that participated in the law enforcement operation included Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. • It was conducted under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC). • “During the eight-week operation, investigations exposed scams linked to over USD 45 million in financial losses and identified 1,247 victims, predominantly from the African continent but also from other regions of the world,” INTERPOLsaidin a press release.
Article Summaries:
- INTERPOL’s Operation Red Card 2.0, carried out by 16 African law‑enforcement agencies from December 2025 to January 2026, resulted in 651 arrests and the recovery of more than $4.3 million. The eight‑week campaign targeted high‑yield investment scams, mobile‑money fraud and fraudulent mobile‑loan schemes, exposing losses of roughly $45 million and affecting 1,247 victims worldwide. Authorities seized 2,341 devices, shut down 1,442 malicious IPs, domains and servers, and dismantled several syndicates, including a Nigerian investment‑fraud ring, a Kenyan messaging‑app scam, and a Côte d’Ivoire mobile‑loan operation. The operation, part of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime, follows a first phase that yielded 306 arrests and 1,842 devices.
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