A transnational operation involving 14 African countries has taken down a large-scale digital scamming network, leading to 260 arrests and the seizure of 1235 electronic devices.
The Interpol-led effort, named Operation Contender 3.0, marks the third wave of arrests against fraudsters and romance scammers in Africa following operations in 2021 and 2024.
This third crackdown was conducted between July 28 and August 11, 2025. It focused on romance scams, where perpetrators build online relationships to extract money from victims, and sextortion, in which victims are blackmailed with explicit images or videos.
Raids in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Angola
During the operation, police forces across the 14 participating African countries identified IP addresses, digital infrastructures, domains and social media profiles linked to members of the scam syndicates, with the collaboration of two private sector organizations, Group-IB and Trend Micro.
These leads helped the law enforcement locate the scammers, with raids taking place in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Angola.
In Ghana, suspects of romance scams had used fake profiles, forged identities and stolen images to deceive victims. They extracted payments using a range of schemes, including fake courier and customs shipment fees.
In Senegal, Operation Contender 3.0 uncovered a network that impersonated celebrities and used emotional manipulation on social media and dating platforms to defraud 120 victims of approximately $34,000.
Police in Côte d’Ivoire dismantled a cybercrime ring that created fake profiles online to manipulate vulnerable individuals into sharing intimate images. Once in possession of compromising material, the criminals blackmailed victims and demanded payments to prevent public exposure.
In Angola, offenders used fraudulent documents to create fake identities, facilitate financial transactions and conceal their real identities while engaging victims.
Investigators identified 1463 victims linked to the scams in these four countries and estimated their losses at nearly $2.8m. They also seized a range equipment which supported their criminal activities, including USB drives, SIM cards and forged documents, and took down 81 cybercrime infrastructures across Africa.
Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, said in a public statement published on September 26 that cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams.
“The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm,” he added.
Dmitry Volkov, CEO of Group-IB, commented: “Cybercriminals behind romance scams and sextortion deliberately exploit some of the deepest human vulnerabilities, such as trust and emotional attachment. They manipulate victims by taking advantage of their feelings and personal relationships, turning genuine emotions into tools of deception and coercion.”
“Through our ongoing partnership with Interpol, Group-IB remains committed to dismantling these networks and protecting individuals from both financial devastation and profound psychological harm,” he continued.
Part of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime Project
Operation Contender 3.0 was funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime project.
Countries involved included Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
The effort is a follow-up of Operation Contender 2.0, that led to eight arrests, in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria for a romance scam that defrauded a victim in Finland and a large-scale phishing scheme that caused over $1.4 m in losses to Swiss citizens.
