Dakar, Sep 26 (AP) A coordinated crackdown on cybercrime by Interpol has resulted in the arrest of 260 individuals suspected of conducting online romance and extortion scams across 14 African nations, the organization announced on Friday.
The operation was conducted in July and August, targeting scams where perpetrators establish online romantic relationships to defraud their victims of money or blackmail them using explicit images, according to Interpol.
Overall, the scams impacted over 1,400 victims who collectively lost nearly USD 2.8 million, stated the international police organization.
"Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams," said Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, in a statement.
"The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm," he added.
Interpol reported that Ghanaian officials arrested 68 individuals involved in romance and sextortion scams. These suspects allegedly used false identities to deceive victims into paying bogus shipment fees and secretly recorded explicit videos for blackmail purposes.
In Senegal, authorities arrested 22 suspects accused of impersonating celebrities on social media and dating sites, scamming more than 100 individuals out of approximately USD 34,000, according to Interpol.
The organization also noted that authorities in Ivory Coast detained 24 suspects for creating fake profiles to obtain and blackmail victims with intimate images.
Interpol, with its 196 member countries, is the largest international police network dedicated to combating international crime. Headquartered in Lyon, France, Interpol assists national police forces in communicating with each other and tracking suspects and criminals in areas such as counterterrorism, financial crime, child pornography, cybercrime, and organized crime.
Recently, it has faced new challenges, including an increasing number of cybercrime and child sex abuse cases, as well as growing divisions among its member states. (AP) GSP
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