Cybercrime has exploded into a menace of epic proportions – and Africa is no safe haven. In fact, the digital underworld on the continent has been so busy that more than 1 000 offenders were caught in a single Interpol dragnet sweeping across 19 countries between September and October – yes, a period of just two months.

Undertaken in collaboration with Afripol, the African Union’s policing organisation, Operation Serengeti targeted individuals suspected of involvement in ransomware, business email compromise, digital extortion and online scams – all identified as prominent threats in the 2024 ‘Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report’.

In a media briefing in Paris, France, at the end of November, Interpol secretary-general Valdecy Urquiza shared a report on the operation, revealing that 35 000 victims were identified, with cases linked to nearly $193-million in financial losses.

Remarked Urquiza: “From multilevel marketing scams to credit card fraud on an industrial scale, the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks is of serious concern.”

The study spanned the entire length and breadth of Africa, from Algeria and Tunisia in the north, to Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon in the central region. It also included the West African countries of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, as well as Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in East Africa. In Southern Africa, Angola, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe took part, while the island nation of Mauritius rounded off the diverse group of participating countries.

The Interpol report also delved into the cybercrime situation in some of these countries, noting that Kenyan officers had cracked an online credit card fraud case linked to $8.6-million in losses. The stolen money was siphoned through fraudulent scripts, which exploited weaknesses in the banking system’s security protocols. These funds were swiftly channelled to companies in the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and China, and ultimately to digital asset institutions offering trade and financial services regulated in multiple jurisdictions. Nearly two dozen arrests were made.

In Senegal, eight people – including five Chinese nationals – were arrested for a $6- million online Ponzi scheme affecting 1 811 victims, while Nigerian authorities arrested one suspect for online investment scams. He is believed to have made more than $300 000 by luring his victims through messaging platforms with false promises of cryptocurrency returns.

Those arrested in Cameroon were suspected of trafficking people from abroad to run a multilevel marketing scam. The victims were made to pay a “membership fee” in exchange for employment or training but, upon arrival in Cameroon, they were held captive and coerced to lure others to the scheme to gain their freedom. Initial estimates indicate the crooks made about $150 000 before being bust.

The cybercriminals in Angola operated a virtual casino primarily targeting Brazilian and Nigerian gamblers.

The Interpol report exposes a troubling gap in Africa’s preparedness to combat cybercrime, pointing to factors such as widespread digital illiteracy, outdated infrastructure and a shortage of cybersecurity professionals, or a combination of any of these issues.

Statistics from South Africa and Nigeria – two of the continent’s biggest economies – bring into focus just how dire the situation is. South Africa, with a population of more than 60-million people, had just 57 000 cybersecurity professionals in 2023, while Nigeria had an even smaller cohort of about 8 300 out of a population of about 230-million. By contrast, the US and Brazil had cybersecurity workforces of 483 000 and about 232 000 respectively.

Highlighting why the continent is particularly vulnerable, technology multinational Cisco’s Chairmaine Houvet says: “Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world for Internet penetration and the use of mobile-based financial services, making it an increasingly attractive target for cybercriminals.”

While the combined GDP of African countries is forecast to exceed $4-trillion by 2027, this level of growth could be jeopardised by cybercrime, according to a paper authored by Cisco in collaboration with the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights.

According to data cited in the study, cybercrime cost Africa more than 10% of its GDP in 2021, equating to about $4.12-billion.