INTERPOL: AI Now Powers 55% of Reported Cybercrimes Across Africa

Artificial intelligence is now enabling 55% of reported cybercrimes across Africa, making attacks faster, more scalable and increasingly difficult to detect, according to INTERPOL ‘s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026. The report warns that as Africa’s digital transformation accelerates—with more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025—cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting AI while law enforcement agencies continue to face fragmented cybercrime legislation and limited AI readiness.

Drawing on survey data from 36 African member countries, the 40-page report concludes that cybercrime on the continent has evolved from isolated incidents into an industrialised, borderless ecosystem. It identifies distinct regional trends, with East Africa emerging as a hotspot for mobile money fraud and infrastructure-targeted ransomware, Central and West Africa experiencing widespread business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams, and Southern Africa’s high digital connectivity making it an attractive target for global cybercriminals.

INTERPOL reported that the financial impact of cybercrime has risen sharply, with losses more than doubling from US$192 million in 2024 to US$484 million. The increase has been driven largely by AI-enabled scams, credential harvesting and automated social engineering campaigns. Online scams remained the most commonly reported cybercrime in 2025, with criminals increasingly exploiting mobile money platforms, social media and AI tools to target victims. The report also found that 72% of surveyed countries had identified scam centres operating within their borders, with the highest concentration in Southern and West Africa.

The assessment highlights the growing sophistication of AI-enabled cyber threats. Digital sextortion and online harassment, often powered by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media, remain widespread, with TrendAI recording approximately 600,000 sextortion detections. Business email compromise attacks have also become more advanced, using AI-generated emails to deceive victims, while Africa-based cybercriminals increasingly target organisations in Europe and North America using infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.

According to the report, the lack of real-time information sharing among banks, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies has created significant vulnerabilities in efforts to combat financial fraud. Criminals are now using AI to generate synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated data, enabling them to bypass biometric verification systems, open bank accounts, obtain mobile loans and register SIM cards under false identities.

Commenting on the findings, 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.”

He added: “However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled.”

Despite the growing threat, the report notes encouraging progress across the continent. In 2025, 17 African countries enacted or updated cybercrime legislation, while Senegal launched an online reporting platform to improve responses to online offences affecting children. INTERPOL also highlighted the impact of coordinated international operations, including Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0, which collectively resulted in more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of devices and the recovery of over US$100 million.

To strengthen Africa’s cyber resilience, INTERPOL recommends expanding digital forensic capabilities, improving cross-border cooperation, investing in AI literacy for law enforcement personnel and establishing stronger public-private partnerships to enhance cybercrime prevention, detection and response. The African Cyberthreat Assessment 2026 forms part of INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with contributions from partners including Fortinet, Mastercard, Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.