Loading story…
INTERPOL’s Operation Red Card 2.0, coordinated under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC), resulted in 651 arrests across 16 African countries and the recovery of over $4.3 million tied to online scam activity. The operation ran from December 8, 2025 to January 30, 2026, identified 1,247 victims, and targeted criminal activity linked to over $45 million in losses, including high-yield investment fraud, mobile money fraud, and fraudulent mobile loan applications.
Law enforcement reported significant disruption activity, including the seizure of 2,341 devices and takedowns of 1,442 malicious IPs/domains/servers (and related infrastructure). Notable actions included Nigeria dismantling an investment-fraud ring that leveraged phishing, identity theft, and social engineering (with 1,000+ fraudulent social media accounts removed) and arresting six suspects accused of breaching a major telecom provider using compromised staff credentials to steal airtime/data for resale; Kenya arrested 27 suspects tied to social-media/messaging-driven fraud schemes; and Côte d’Ivoire arrested 58 suspects linked to predatory loan-app activity with hidden fees and abusive collection practices.
Mallory correlates global threat intelligence with your attack surface — know if you’re exposed before adversaries strike.
8 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
INTERPOL published the results of Operation Red Card 2.0 and highlighted the transnational nature of the cybercrime syndicates, stressing the need for cross-border collaboration to combat online scams in Africa.
By the end of the operation, authorities had arrested 651 suspects, identified 1,247 victims, recovered more than $4.3 million, seized 2,341 devices, and disrupted 1,442 malicious IPs, domains, and servers linked to scams causing over $45 million in losses.
Authorities in Côte d’Ivoire arrested 58 suspects connected to predatory mobile loan fraud carried out through deceptive applications that targeted victims with abusive lending scams.
Kenyan authorities arrested 27 suspects linked to investment fraud schemes that used social media and messaging platforms to lure victims with fake opportunities.
Nigerian police arrested six suspects accused of breaching a major telecommunications provider by using stolen employee credentials as part of a separate cybercrime scheme uncovered during the operation.
During the operation, Nigerian authorities dismantled a major investment fraud network that used phishing, identity theft, social engineering, fake digital-asset investment schemes, and more than 1,000 fraudulent social media accounts.
Law enforcement agencies in 16 African countries, supported by INTERPOL and AFJOC, launched Operation Red Card 2.0 to target high-yield investment fraud, mobile money scams, and fraudulent mobile loan applications.
INTERPOL said an earlier phase of Operation Red Card, conducted between November 2024 and February 2025, led to 306 arrests and the seizure of 1,842 devices across participating African countries.
Vulnerabilities, threat actors, malware, products, organizations, and breaches Mallory has linked to this story.
6 references tracked. Mallory keeps watching after this page renders.
scworld.com
Open sourcesecurityaffairs.com
Open sourcehelpnetsecurity.com
Open sourcethehackernews.com
Open sourcebleepingcomputer.com
Open sourceinterpol.int
Open sourceMap indicators from this story to your assets and identify affected systems in minutes.
Every observed campaign, victim, and pivot linked to actors named in this story.
Malware, exploits, and IOCs connected to the activity described here.
YARA, Sigma, and Snort rules deployed to your SIEM as soon as they’re published.
Get matching new stories delivered to your team as they break — not the next morning.
Ask questions about this story and take action on the answers.
Other stories Mallory is tracking that overlap on entities, sources, or topic labels.
Law enforcement agencies across 19 African countries, coordinated by INTERPOL under Operation Sentinel, arrested 574 suspects and recovered approximately $3 million in a sweeping crackdown on cybercrime. The month-long operation targeted business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion, and ransomware, resulting in the takedown of over 6,000 malicious links and the decryption of six ransomware variants. Notable incidents included the prevention of a $7.9 million BEC fraud at a Senegalese petroleum company, a ransomware attack on a Ghanaian financial institution that encrypted 100 terabytes of data, and the dismantling of a cross-border scam in Ghana and Nigeria that defrauded over 200 victims. Authorities also seized more than 100 digital devices, took down 30 servers, and shut down thousands of scam-linked social media accounts, with total financial losses from investigated cases exceeding $21 million. The operation highlighted the increasing scale and sophistication of cyberattacks targeting critical sectors such as finance and energy across Africa. International cooperation and rapid response were key to the operation's success, with support from private sector partners including Team Cymru, The Shadowserver Foundation, Trend Micro, TRM Labs, and Uppsala Security. The results demonstrate a strong commitment by African law enforcement and their international partners to combat cybercrime and protect digital infrastructure in the region.
Jun 29, 2026
INTERPOL said **Operation First Light 2026** led to **5,811 arrests** across **97 countries and territories** and the seizure or interception of **$293 million** in illicit assets during a four-month crackdown on social engineering fraud and related money laundering. The campaign, conducted between January 15 and April 30, targeted **business email compromise**, impersonation fraud, romance scams, investment scams, sextortion, and the financial networks used to move criminal proceeds. Investigators reviewed roughly **150,000 cases**, identified more than **142,000 victims**, blocked **31,014 bank accounts**, and identified **15,606 additional suspects** beyond those arrested. INTERPOL said the operation used its **I-GRIP** payment-intervention system to help stop suspicious transfers involving both fiat currency and virtual assets before settlement, with support from partners including **ASEANAPOL**, **GCCPOL**, and **Europol**. Authorities highlighted cases in **Eswatini**, **Thailand**, **Singapore and Oman**, **Macao, China**, and **Palau**, including impersonation scams, romance-scam laundering through cryptocurrency cross-chain swaps, a business email compromise investigation, and scam centres operating from hotels. The operation was funded in part by China’s Ministry of Public Security and adds to a broader series of INTERPOL-led anti-cybercrime actions such as **Synergia**, **Serengeti**, **Africa Cyber Surge**, **Red Card 2.0**, and **Synergia III**.
Jul 11, 2026
**INTERPOL** said **Operation Synergia III** led to the arrest of **94 suspects**, the seizure of **212 devices and servers**, and the sinkholing or takedown of more than **45,000 malicious IP addresses** tied to cybercrime infrastructure across **72 countries and territories**. The operation ran from July 2025 through January 2026 and targeted infrastructure supporting **phishing, malware, ransomware, romance scams, credit card fraud, and related online fraud**. Authorities said **110 additional individuals remain under investigation**, underscoring that follow-on enforcement activity is still ongoing. Preliminary case details show broad international participation and a focus on both technical infrastructure and fraud operators. In **Macau**, investigators identified more than **33,000 phishing and fraudulent websites**, including fake casino, banking, government, payment, and other critical-service sites used to steal credentials and payment data. In **Bangladesh**, authorities arrested **40 suspects** and seized **134 devices** linked to loan scams, employment scams, identity theft, and credit card fraud, while in **Togo** police arrested **10 suspects** tied to a fraud ring whose members split responsibilities between account compromise and social-engineering schemes such as romance and sextortion scams. The reporting describes a coordinated law-enforcement disruption of active criminal infrastructure rather than a vendor announcement or generic security guidance.
Jun 29, 2026