INTERPOL Operation Serengeti III: police in 21 countries arrested 1,462 suspects, disrupted 10,909 malicious networks and recovered more than US$105 million in a 29 June–31 August crackdown on cybercrime across Africa
INTERPOL announced on 22 October 2026 the results of Operation Serengeti III, which it describes as one of Africa's largest cybercrime enforcement operations. INTERPOL says investigators from 21 countries, under its coordination, targeted cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise, online scams and digital extortion between 29 June and 31 August 2026, arresting 1,462 suspects, disrupting 10,909 malicious networks and recovering more than US$105 million in illicit funds. INTERPOL says authorities identified 65,929 victims and linked the criminal activity to losses exceeding US$385 million. INTERPOL's highlights: in Uganda, two transnational fraud rings were dismantled and 365 foreign nationals arrested over online investment and pension fraud targeting victims across Asia; in Angola, two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres were dismantled, nine suspects arrested and more than 2,000 mining devices seized; in Nigeria, a suspect was arrested over a large-scale phishing and business email compromise operation that harvested software credentials and amassed about 2.1 million email addresses. INTERPOL says partners including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Fortinet, Team Cymru, Uppsala Security, Cybercrime Atlas, Meta and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance supported the operation, and that several investigations remain active. The participating countries INTERPOL lists are 20 African nations and the United States; INTERPOL names no Australian victims.
- Exploited in Australia?
- unknown
- Patch to
- Treat unsolicited investment, pension or crypto offers and payment-change requests by email as likely scams: confirm any change to bank details by phoning a number you already hold, and never move money or crypto on a stranger's instructions. Report losses to ReportCyber (cyber.gov.au) and Scamwatch, and call your bank immediately to try to stop a transfer.
Primary: INTERPOL — Cybercrime crackdown in Africa nets 1,462 arrests, recovers over USD 105 million (22 Oct 2026) · BleepingComputer — Authorities disrupt nearly 11,000 cybercrime networks in Africa (22 Oct 2026)