Over 1,000 arrested in massive ‘Serengeti’ anti-cybercrime operation

Law enforcement agencies in Africa arrested as part of ‘Operation Serengeti’ more than a thousand individuals suspected of being involved in major cybercriminal activities that caused close to $193 million in financial losses all over the world.

The operation was coordinated by the Interpol and Afripol between September 2nd and October 31st and “targeted criminals behind ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion and online scams.”

In total, authorities in 19 African countries arrested 1,006 suspects and took down 134,089 malicious infrastructures and networks, based on intelligence provided by operational partners Cybercrime Atlas, Fortinet, Group-IB, Kaspersky, Team Cymru, Trend Micro, and Uppsala Security.

The investigators report that the suspects and infrastructures were linked to at least 35,224 identified victims who lost nearly $193 million. Operation Serengeti recovered roughly $44 million.

Here are some highlights from the report, focused on law enforcement action on particular regions:

• Kenya: Cracked a case of online credit card fraud linked to $8.6 million in losses; funds were stolen via fraudulent scripts and redirected through SWIFT to companies in the UAE, Nigeria, and China. Nearly two dozen arrests were made.
• Senegal: Dismantled a $6 million Ponzi scheme affecting 1,811 victims; seized over 900 SIM cards, $11,000 in cash, phones, laptops, and victims’ ID cards. Eight individuals, including five Chinese nationals, were arrested.
• Nigeria: Arrested a man running online investment scams, earning $300,000 through false cryptocurrency promises.
• Cameroon: Disrupted a multi-level marketing scam trafficking victims from seven countries; victims were held captive and forced to recruit others to gain freedom. Group collected at least $150,000 in membership fees.
• Angola: Dismantled an international group running a virtual casino in Luanda; defrauded hundreds by offering winnings for recruiting new members. 150 arrests were made, with 200 computers and over 100 mobile phones seized.

The countries involved in Operation Serengeti are Algeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Gabon, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.