Interpol's Africa cyber sweep: 1,462 arrests, $385m lost. SA took part

South Africa was one of 21 countries in Operation Serengeti III, an Interpol-led cybercrime crackdown that ended with 1,462 arrests across Africa and more than USD 105 million in stolen money recovered. Investigators linked the networks they targeted to losses of more than USD 385 million and identified 65,929 victims (Interpol).

Interpol announced the results on 22 October 2026. The operation itself ran from 29 June to 31 August 2026 (Interpol).

What did Operation Serengeti III target?

Police went after cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise (where criminals hijack or fake business emails to redirect payments), online scams and digital extortion. Across the 21 countries they disrupted 10,909 malicious networks, such as scam websites and the servers that control hacked computers (Interpol).

Before the raids, investigators from 20 African countries and the United States were given intelligence on suspicious domains, IP addresses and command servers. Private companies including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Fortinet, Meta and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance helped map the networks (Interpol).

Who was arrested and where?

Interpol's release does not break down arrests or recoveries by country, so there is no official figure yet for South Africa. The cases it highlighted were elsewhere (Interpol):

• Uganda: 365 foreign nationals arrested over online investment and pension fraud run from call centres, aimed mostly at victims in Asia.
• Angola: nine arrests at two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres, with more than 2,000 mining machines seized.
• Nigeria: a suspect arrested over a phishing operation that had collected about 2.1 million email addresses, and another over an investment scam promoted on messaging apps that moved more than USD 2.4 million.
• Tanzania, Gabon and Congo: a fake mobile loan app shut down, a social media vehicle import scam disrupted and 30 suspects arrested.

The other participating countries were Benin, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, the DRC, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe, plus the US. Interpol says several investigations are still active (Interpol).

Why does this matter for South Africans?

Interpol's 2026 Africa cyber threat assessment found that artificial intelligence is behind 55% of reported cybercrime on the continent, and that cybercrime losses more than doubled from USD 192 million in 2024 to USD 484 million. Online scams were the most reported type of cybercrime in 2025 (Interpol).

The report singles out Southern Africa, saying its very high connectivity makes it "a magnet" for global criminal groups. It also found scam centres in 72% of the countries surveyed, concentrated mostly in Southern and West Africa (Interpol).

At home, SABRIC (the banking industry's crime centre) recorded about R1.7 billion in card fraud losses in 2025, with online card fraud alone costing R780.5 million. It says most of it starts with phishing emails, phone calls or SMSes from criminals posing as bank staff (SABRIC).

How do you protect yourself from these scams?

The tricks behind the Serengeti cases are the same ones SABRIC sees locally (SABRIC):

• Never give a one-time PIN (OTP), card PIN or password to anyone who phones, SMSes or emails you, even if they say they're from your bank.
• Don't click payment or "investment" links in messages. Type the website address yourself.
• Be wary of investment offers on WhatsApp, Telegram or social media that promise fast or guaranteed returns.
• If a supplier emails new bank details, phone them on a number you already have before paying.

If you think your ID has been used in a fraud, you can apply for free protective registration with the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service, which flags your details to its members (SAFPS). If money has left your account, contact your bank's fraud line straight away and open a case at your nearest police station.