Interpol says 260 suspects in online romance scams arrested across Africa

The operation by the international police organisation took place in July and August (Laurent Cipriani/AP)

A crackdown on cybercrime co-ordinated by Interpol has led to the arrests across 14 African countries of 260 people suspected in online romance and extortion scams, the organisation has announced.

The operation took place in July and August and focused on scams in which perpetrators build online romantic relationships to extract money from targets or blackmail them with explicit images, Interpol said.

Altogether, the scams targeted more than 1,400 victims who lost nearly 2.8 million US dollars (£2 billion), the international police organisation said.

The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm

“Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams,” Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, said in the statement.

“The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm,” he said.

Interpol said Ghanaian authorities arrested 68 suspects in romance and sextortion scams. They were accused of using fake identities to trick victims into paying fake shipment fees and secretly recorded explicit videos for blackmail.

In Senegal, police arrested 22 suspects who allegedly posed as celebrities on social media and dating platforms to scam more than 100 people out of around 34,000 dollars (£25,000), Interpol said.

196 The number of member countries in Interpol

The organisation also said authorities in Ivory Coast arrested 24 suspects accused of using fake profiles to obtain and blackmail victims with intimate images.

Interpol, which has 196 member countries, is the world’s largest international police network to combat international crime.

Headquartered in Lyon, France, it works to help national police forces communicate with each other and track suspects and criminals in areas such as counter-terrorism, financial crime, child pornography, cybercrime and organised crime.

In recent years, it has grappled with new challenges, including a growing caseload of cybercrime and child sex abuse, and increasing divisions among its member countries.