Interpol says African cybercrime losses have more than doubled to $484 million, with Nigeria central to both the crime and its financing
Artificial intelligence is enabling 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa, making attacks faster, more scalable, and increasingly difficult for victims and platforms to detect, according to Interpol‘s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026.
The 40-page report, released on Monday and based on survey data from 36 African member countries, said cybercrime-related losses across the continent jumped from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million since then, more than doubling.
It found that a significant share of data breaches occurred in South Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria and Namibia between January 2024 and September 2025, while 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported scam centres operating within their borders, concentrated most heavily in Southern and West Africa.
How ransomware and BEC scams are hitting Nigeria
Ransomware incidents were prevalent across South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Senegal and Zambia, with attackers increasingly targeting healthcare institutions, utility providers and public service portals to maximise disruption and extortion potential.
The report cited the Nigeria Customs Service as one victim, hit by a ransomware variant in August 2025 that paralysed cargo clearance at major ports, generating an estimated $18 million in storage fees and import delays.
Ransomware detections in 2025 reached record levels in Cabo Verde, with 16,997 detections, the second-highest in Africa, while Nigeria recorded 5,822, reflecting the country’s dual role as both an origin and a target of cybercrime.
Business email compromise (BEC), in which attackers trick workers into sending money or private data by impersonating bosses or trusted partners, was described by the report as the financial engine of transnational cybercrime.
West Africa was the most active region for BEC detections, and the report said AI is now used to generate convincing email correspondence that mimics executive tone, internal jargon and signature styles with near-perfect fidelity. TrendAI data indicated that 70 per cent of BEC detections in 2025 originated in South Africa and 29 per cent in Nigeria.
Money laundering, crypto fraud and identity gaps
Interpol said Microsoft-identified threat actors based in South Africa, active since 2017, primarily target US-based enterprises using compromised email accounts and money mule networks to divert funds offshore.
Separately, threat actors based in Nigeria, active since 2021, have become central to international money laundering operations, routing illicit proceeds through crypto exchanges, shell companies and mobile payment platforms.
Mali recorded the highest sextortion detections in West Africa, with 3,494 incidents, while Interpol partner TrendAI logged roughly 600,000 sextortion cases continent-wide, pointing to growing infrastructure for automated blackmail campaigns.
The region’s crypto economy was valued at $205 billion in transactions between July 2024 and July 2025 and became a magnet for fraud, the report said, with Nigeria accounting for $92 billion of that figure. South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria were also among the countries with the highest vulnerabilities for data breaches.
In 2024, Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) enforced a policy mandating that every SIM card be linked to a unique, verifiable National Identification Number (NIN).
Interpol said the policy significantly reduced fraud, but cybercriminals adapted rapidly, exploiting gaps in KYC enforcement and using AI to help register SIM cards under false names.
The report forms part of Interpol’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with data contributed by Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
