Artificial intelligence is becoming one of the biggest tools used by cybercriminals across Africa, with a new report revealing that AI now plays a role in 55% of reported cybercrime cases on the continent.
According to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, cybercrime is growing at an alarming rate, becoming more organised, more sophisticated, and more difficult for authorities to stop. The report also showed that financial losses from cybercrime more than doubled within one year, rising from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million in 2025.
The report, based on information gathered from 36 African countries, explained that cybercrime has evolved from isolated attacks into a large-scale international network where criminals use artificial intelligence to launch smarter and faster scams.
INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, Neal Jetton, warned that cybercriminals are now using advanced AI technology to carry out phishing attacks, create fake identities, spread deepfake videos, and run online extortion schemes. He said these threats are becoming more dangerous because they can cross borders easily, making it impossible for any single country to fight them alone.
Jetton noted that cooperation among countries remains the strongest weapon against cybercrime. He pointed to four major operations coordinated by INTERPOL that led to the arrest of more than 1,500 suspects, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices, and the recovery of over $100 million linked to cybercrime activities.
The report also highlighted a major weakness across many African countries. It found that banks, telecom companies, financial technology firms, and law enforcement agencies often fail to share information quickly. This lack of real-time cooperation allows cybercriminals to move stolen funds and continue fraudulent activities before authorities can respond.
INTERPOL added that many countries also lack effective Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and coordinated communication systems, giving criminals more opportunities to operate with little resistance.
The findings are similar to concerns raised globally. In the United States, the FBI recently reported that cybercriminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create fake voice recordings, realistic videos, and convincing social media profiles to deceive victims. AI-related cybercrime reportedly caused losses of more than $893 million in 2025, showing that the problem is not limited to Africa.
Across Africa, different regions are facing different cyber threats. East Africa has become a hotspot for mobile money fraud and ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, business email scams and romance fraud remain common across West and Central Africa.
The report also found that 72% of surveyed countries identified the presence of scam centres, with Southern and West Africa recording the highest numbers. AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media are also fueling cases of digital sextortion and online harassment. One of INTERPOL’s technology partners detected around 600,000 sextortion incidents during the assessment period.
Business email fraud has also become more convincing, with criminals using AI to create professional-looking emails that target companies and individuals, particularly in Europe and North America, while operating from networks spread across several African countries.
Nigeria is also experiencing the changing nature of cybercrime. Although reported losses from digital payment fraud dropped by more than half to ₦25.85 billion in 2025, compared to ₦52.26 billion in 2024, experts say the improvement does not tell the full story.
Recent findings show that fraud losses have increased by about 350% since 2020, even though the total number of reported fraud cases has fallen by around 31%. This suggests that cybercriminals are becoming more selective, using advanced technology to carry out fewer but more damaging attacks.
The latest report serves as a warning that artificial intelligence is transforming cybercrime across Africa. While AI offers many benefits for businesses and everyday life, stronger security systems, better cooperation between countries, and faster information sharing will be essential to stop criminals from using the same technology for illegal activities.
