AI Linked to More than Half of Cybercrimes in Africa- INTERPOL Report
Artificial intelligence is now driving 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa, making attacks faster, more scalable, and increasingly difficult for victims and platforms to detect, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026.
The 40-page report, based on survey data from 36 African member countries, says cyber-criminality on the continent has shifted from isolated incidents into an industrialised, borderless ecosystem.
Africa’s rapid digital growth is fueling the threat. With more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025, the report notes that cybercrime legislation remains fragmented and AI readiness in law enforcement agencies is “alarmingly low.”
The financial impact is rising sharply. Since 2024, cybercrime-related losses have more than doubled, from USD 192 million to USD 484 million. The increase is being driven primarily by AI-facilitated scams, credential harvesting, and automated social engineering campaigns.
Online scams remained the most reported type of cybercrime in 2025, with attackers leveraging mobile money platforms, social media and AI to reach targets. The report found that 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported the presence of scam centres, with the highest concentration in Southern and West Africa.
The report also highlights regional patterns. East Africa emerged as a hub of mobile money fraud and infrastructure-targeted ransomware. Business email compromise and romance scams targeting both corporate and individual victims were prolific in Central and West Africa. Southern Africa’s ultra-high connectivity makes it a magnet for global threat actors seeking maximum disruption.
AI is also powering more sophisticated forms of abuse. Digital sextortion and online harassment, often facilitated by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media, remained pervasive, with some 600,000 sextortion detections recorded by TrendAI, one of INTERPOL’s partners.
Business E-Mail Compromise schemes have similarly grown in sophistication, with AI used to generate highly convincing emails.
Africa-based threat actors are now targeting victims in Europe and North America using infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.
Criminals are also moving beyond stealing credentials to creating synthetic identities. By combining real personal data with fabricated elements, these AI-generated digital personas can bypass advanced biometric verification systems and have been used to open bank accounts, secure mobile loans and register SIM cards under false names.
INTERPOL warns that the absence of real-time, inter-agency data sharing between banks, telecoms and law enforcement creates a dangerous blind spot that criminals are exploiting.
Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime unit, said: “Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion. However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled.”
There are signs of progress. In 2025, 17 countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation, including Senegal’s launch of an online reporting platform aimed at violations affecting children. Regional capacity-building initiatives also continue to strengthen cyber resilience.
Operational cooperation is delivering results. Four high-impact cybercrime operations coordinated by INTERPOL — Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0 — collectively led to more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of devices and the recovery of over USD 100 million.
In its recommendations, the report calls for standardised digital forensic capabilities, enhanced cross-border cooperation, investment in AI literacy among law enforcement officers, and formal public-private partnerships to support prevention, detection and response.
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