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Operation Contender 3.0 saw law enforcement agencies tackle scammers across 14 countries in July and August.
Authorities have arrested 260 alleged scammers and seized 1,235 electronic devices in an enforcement operation spanning 14 African countries.
Operation Contender 3.0 ran from 28 July to 11 August, targeting criminals using social media to engage in romance scams to trick victims and defraud them financially.
Eighty-one discrete malicious infrastructures were taken down, and more than 1,400 victims were identified. Estimated losses attributed to the scam operations are close to US$2.8 million.
“Cyber crime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams,” Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, said in a 26 September statement.
“The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm. By working closely with our member countries and private sector partners, we remain committed to disrupting and dismantling the groups that prey on vulnerable individuals online.”
In addition to law enforcement agencies in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia, two private sector partners – cyber security companies Trend Micro and Group IB – also assisted the operation.
“Cyber criminals behind romance scams and sextortion deliberately exploit some of the deepest human vulnerabilities, such as trust and emotional attachment,” Dmitry Volkov, CEO of Group-IB – which assisted in the operation – said.
“They manipulate victims by taking advantage of their feelings and personal relationships, turning genuine emotions into tools of deception and coercion. We are grateful to Interpol and all participating authorities for their swift response and tireless efforts for this operation.
“Through our ongoing partnership with Interpol, Group-IB remains committed to dismantling these networks and protecting individuals from both financial devastation and profound psychological harm.”
The scammers utilised forged identities, fake profiles, and stolen images to bolster their activities, which included both romance scams and sextortion, where the scammers secretly recorded intimate videos during chat sessions in order to blackmail their victims.
Operation Contender 3.0 was funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime project.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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