The International Criminal Police Organisation, INTERPOL, has arrested two Nigerian internet fraudsters, also known as ‘yahoo boys’ and 1,460 others from other African countries.
The operation, codenamed Operation Serengeti III, which
targeted cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise, BEC,
online scams and digital extortion also led to the arrest of 1,462 suspects and
recovery of over $105 million in illicit funds across Africa
According to INTERPOL, investigators disrupted 10,909
malicious networks, identified 65,929 victims and linked criminal activities to
losses exceeding $385 million.
It was gathered that the operation involved 21 countries, 20
African nations plus the United States. The African countries are Angola,
Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,
Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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The INTERPOL added that in Nigeria, authorities arrested a
suspect behind a large-scale phishing and BEC operation that harvested software
credentials and amassed about 2.1 million email addresses. Investigators also
recovered a luxury vehicle suspected to have been purchased with criminal
proceeds.
A separate investigation in Nigeria targeted an
international investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging apps, leading to
the arrest of another suspect.
Financial investigations revealed movement of more than $2.4
million in suspected criminal proceeds, much of which was laundered through
cryptocurrency transactions.
In Uganda, authorities dismantled two transnational fraud
rings and arrested 365 foreign nationals linked to online investment and
pension fraud targeting victims in Asia. In Angola, two illegal cryptocurrency
mining centres were shut down, with nine suspects arrested and over 2,000
mining devices seized.
The operation was supported by private cybersecurity firms
including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Fortinet, Team Cymru and Meta, who provided
intelligence on suspicious domains and infrastructure.
INTERPOL Director of Cybercrime, Neal Jetton, said:
"Cybercrime networks operate without regard for borders, exploiting
technology to target victims on an unprecedented scale."
INTERPOL said investigations remain ongoing.
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