Artificial intelligence is now responsible for 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa, enabling attacks that are faster, more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to detect, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026.
The report revealed that Africa’s rapid digital expansion, with over 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025, has been accompanied by an equally rapid rise in cybercrime. It warned that fragmented cybercrime laws and limited AI preparedness among law enforcement agencies continue to undermine effective responses.
Based on data from 36 African member countries, the 40-page assessment said cybercrime has evolved into an industrialised, borderless ecosystem powered by artificial intelligence.
East Africa has emerged as a hotspot for mobile money fraud and ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure, while business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams remain widespread across Central and West Africa. Southern Africa, the report noted, has become an attractive target for international cybercriminals due to its high internet penetration.
The financial impact of cybercrime has also surged, with reported losses rising from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million in 2025. INTERPOL attributed the increase largely to AI-enabled scams, credential harvesting and automated social engineering attacks.
Online scams remained the most common form of cybercrime in 2025, with criminals exploiting mobile money platforms, social media and AI-generated content to deceive victims. About 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported the presence of scam centres, with the highest concentration found in Southern and West Africa.
The report also highlighted digital sextortion and online harassment as growing concerns, increasingly driven by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media. Data from TrendAI, one of INTERPOL’s partners, showed that approximately 600,000 sextortion incidents were detected during the reporting period.
Business email compromise attacks have become more advanced, with cybercriminals using AI to generate highly convincing fraudulent emails. The report further revealed that Africa-based cyber threat actors are increasingly targeting victims in Europe and North America through cyber infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.
INTERPOL warned that inadequate real-time information sharing between banks, telecommunications firms and law enforcement agencies continues to create significant gaps in tackling financial cybercrime.
It also cautioned that cybercriminals are now creating AI-generated synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated details. These identities are being used to bypass biometric verification systems, open bank accounts, obtain mobile loans and register SIM cards under false identities.
Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, Neal Jetton, described cybercrime as one of the continent’s most serious criminal threats.
“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, when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled,” he said.
Despite the escalating threat, the report highlighted progress in strengthening cybersecurity across Africa. It noted that 17 African countries enacted or updated cybercrime legislation in 2025, while Senegal introduced an online reporting platform to improve responses to online offences affecting children.
Regional capacity-building initiatives were also credited with enhancing long-term cyber resilience.
INTERPOL disclosed that four major cybercrime operations carried out in 2025—Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0—led to more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the recovery of over $100 million.
To combat the growing threat, the report recommended standardising digital forensic capabilities, strengthening cross-border cooperation, increasing AI literacy among law enforcement personnel and establishing stronger public-private partnerships to improve cybercrime prevention, detection and response.
The African Cyberthreat Assessment 2026 was produced under INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with contributions from Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
