AI Fuels Over Half of Cybercrime in Africa, INTERPOL Report Reveals

A new INTERPOL report, the African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, highlights the significant role of artificial intelligence in escalating cybercrime across Africa, with AI driving 55% of reported incidents. The report, based on data from 36 African member countries, illustrates how criminal networks are leveraging automation to expand sophisticated schemes like fraud, ransomware, phishing, and identity theft. This surge coincides with Africa's rapidly expanding digital economy, which has seen over 1.1 billion mobile subscriptions by 2025, creating both opportunities and an enlarged pool of potential victims for organized cybercriminal groups.

The report details how AI is integrated into nearly every phase of a cyberattack, from automated information gathering and generating convincing phishing emails in multiple languages to creating deepfake content for sextortion and crafting synthetic identities for financial fraud. Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are also becoming more sophisticated, with AI enabling criminals to mimic writing styles and corporate language with high accuracy. East Africa, in particular, is noted as a hub for mobile money fraud and infrastructure-targeted ransomware, reflecting the region's high reliance on digital payments.

The financial impact of these AI-assisted crimes is substantial, with cybercrime-related losses in Africa climbing from USD 192 million in 2024 to USD 484 million. These losses are largely attributed to AI-assisted scams, credential theft, and automated social engineering. The report emphasizes that cybercrime is no longer isolated but a coordinated, cross-border business, making it increasingly challenging for financial institutions, telecom operators, and law enforcement to combat.

Despite the alarming trends, the report also acknowledges progress, noting that 17 African countries enacted or updated cybercrime legislation in 2025. Operational cooperation, including four coordinated INTERPOL operations, led to over 1,500 arrests and the recovery of more than USD 100 million. INTERPOL recommends enhancing digital forensic capabilities, improving cross-border intelligence sharing, strengthening public-private partnerships, and investing in AI training for investigators to effectively counter these evolving threats.