AI Fuels 55% of African Cybercrimes as Losses Top $480 Million, INTERPOL Warns

INTERPOL's African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 analyzes 2025 data and finds AI is being used in 55% of cybercrime incidents across Africa, driving a rise in sophisticated scams—phishing, credential harvesting, automated social engineering, synthetic identities, and mobile-money fraud—leading to large continent-wide financial losses and organized scam centers concentrated in Southern and West Africa. The report highlights cross-border BEC targeting, lack of real-time data sharing between banks/telecoms/law enforcement, and notes legislative and operational responses in some countries.