AI-driven cybercrime now accounts for 55% of all reported digital crime in Africa, Interpol has warned.
The policing group made the claim in a new African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, which draws on data provided by its 36 member countries on the continent.
AI-powered scams, social engineering and credential harvesting have helped to drive cybercrime losses from $192m in 2024 to $484m last year, the report claimed.
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Among the findings highlighted in the report are:
- Digital sextortion and online harassment are being fuelled by AI-generated deepfakes. Interpol partner TrendAI recorded 600,000 sextortion attempts in the reporting period
- Business email compromise (BEC) fraud attempts are being made more convincing thanks to AI-generated emails AI used to generate highly convincing e-mail correspondence
- A lack of real-time, inter-agency data sharing between banks, telecoms and law enforcement is creating new opportunities for financial fraudsters – especially those using synthetic identities to bypass biometric checks
- AI-driven ransomware (eg Qilin and Akira) is targeting healthcare systems, power utilities, and educational institutions in the region
- Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS) platforms on the dark web have lowered the barriers to entry for would-be threat actors
Scammers Abuse Social Media and AI
The surge in AI-driven cybercrime isn’t just bad news for Africans. Cybercriminals in the region are also continuing to focus their efforts on global targets.
According to the report, online scams were the most common cybercrime type, with attackers using and abusing mobile money platforms, social media and AI.
Three-quarters (72%) of participating countries reported the presence of scam centers, with Southern and West Africa most likely to host facilities. Victims of BEC and scams are most likely to be located in Europe and North America.
However, Neal Jetton, director of Interpol’s cybercrime unit, was optimistic about possible progress.
“Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyber-attack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion,” he said.
“However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled.”
To this end, 17 African countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation last year, while efforts to build capacity regionally continued, Interpol claimed.
It pointed to several coordinated law enforcement operations – including Serengeti 2.0, Contender 2.0 and 3.0, Sentinel, and Red Card – which have collectively led to more than 1500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of devices, and the recovery of over $100m.
Interpol’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
