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INTERPOL says Operation Contender 3.0 led to 260 suspected scammers being arrested across 14 African countries between 28 July and 11 August 2025. In its 26 September 2025 release, the agency also reported 1,235 electronic devices seized, 81 cybercrime infrastructures taken down, 1,463 victims identified and nearly USD 2.8 million in estimated losses. These are INTERPOL-reported figures, not independently audited totals.
What is Operation Contender 3.0?
Operation Contender 3.0 was a time-bounded, multinational law-enforcement operation focused on romance scams and sextortion networks in Africa. Authorities in 14 countries worked from digital leads—including IP addresses, domains, online infrastructure and social-media profiles—linked to suspected syndicate members.
INTERPOL says investigators used those leads to make arrests, seize USB drives, SIM cards and forged documents, and take down 81 cybercrime infrastructures. Private-sector partners Group-IB and Trend Micro supported enhanced data sharing and operational capabilities; INTERPOL does not say that either company made arrests or independently verified the totals.
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The agency defines the two principal crime patterns in practical terms:
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- Romance scams: offenders create a false online relationship or identity and then manipulate the target into sending money.
- Sextortion: offenders obtain or secretly record intimate images or video and threaten to release them unless the victim pays or complies.
What results did INTERPOL report?
INTERPOL’s 26 September 2025 release gives the following operation-wide results. The measures describe different stages of enforcement and harm: an arrest is not a conviction, a seized device is not a recovered loss, and a victim identified is not necessarily a person whose money was recovered.
| Measure | INTERPOL-reported result |
|---|---|
| Countries participating | 14 African countries |
| Operation dates | 28 July–11 August 2025 |
| Suspected scammers arrested | 260 |
| Electronic devices seized | 1,235 |
| Cybercrime infrastructures taken down | 81 |
| Victims identified | 1,463 |
| Estimated losses | Nearly USD 2.8 million |
“Estimated losses” is INTERPOL’s wording and should not be read as a precise, independently audited loss total. The release also does not establish that the country examples below are non-overlapping components of every operation-wide figure, so they should not be added together to recreate the regional totals.
How did investigators identify the networks?
Investigators followed technical and open-source traces associated with suspected syndicates. The leads included IP addresses, domains, digital infrastructure and social-media profiles. Subsequent investigative work connected online identities and infrastructure to suspects and supported coordinated arrests and seizures.
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The operation’s physical evidence included electronic devices, USB drives, SIM cards and forged documents. Infrastructure takedowns targeted the systems used to run or support the criminal activity, rather than representing a count of individual offenders or victims.
What happened in Ghana?
Ghana supplied one of the detailed country examples in INTERPOL’s release. Authorities reported:
- 68 individuals arrested;
- 835 devices seized;
- 108 victims identified;
- USD 450,000 in losses identified; and
- USD 70,000 recovered.
The loss and recovery figures are separate measures: the reported losses describe money victims were defrauded of, while the recovered amount is money authorities say they retrieved. INTERPOL says suspects used fake profiles, forged identities and stolen images. Romance schemes included demands for supposed courier or customs shipment fees. In sextortion cases, suspects secretly recorded explicit video chats and used the recordings to blackmail victims.
What happened in Senegal?
Senegalese police reported 22 suspects arrested and 120 victims identified. INTERPOL says those victims were defrauded of approximately USD 34,000. The cited network impersonated celebrities and used emotional manipulation on social media and dating platforms.
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How romance scams and sextortion work
Fake profiles and manufactured relationships
In the romance-scam pattern described by INTERPOL, an offender adopts a false identity—often using stolen images or other identity details—and initiates contact through a social platform, messaging service or dating application. After trust is built, the offender invents an urgent financial reason for the victim to send money, such as a shipment, customs charge or other emergency.
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Secret recordings and blackmail
Sextortion offenders may steer a conversation toward an explicit video chat, record it without the other person’s knowledge, and then threaten to distribute the recording. The demand for money or further intimate material is the leverage, and the threat can cause psychological harm even when no payment is made.
Earlier regional context: INTERPOL’s 2024 assessment
INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2024 provides context from data supplied by African member countries about 2023. It describes growing volume, impact and sophistication in romance-scam reports occurring in or originating from the continent.
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That assessment says offenders most often approach targets through social media, messaging services and online dating applications. It discusses catfishing through stolen images or broader identity appropriation, relationship manipulation and sextortion as related patterns. This is earlier regional context; it is not a quantified finding from Operation Contender 3.0 and does not establish that the same prevalence or tactics applied in every country involved in the 2025 operation.
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What INTERPOL says the operation means
Cyril Gout, Acting Executive Director of Police Services at INTERPOL, said:
“Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams. The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm. By working closely with our member countries and private sector partners, we remain committed to disrupting and dismantling the groups that prey on vulnerable individuals online.”
The full operation announcement is available from INTERPOL’s 26 September 2025 release.
Quick Recap
How to interpret the numbers
- Arrests: 260 people were reported arrested as suspected scammers; the figure does not state convictions.
- Seizures: 1,235 electronic devices were reported seized; a device count is not a count of offenders.
- Infrastructure: 81 cybercrime infrastructures were reported taken down; this is distinct from websites, devices or people.
- Victims: 1,463 victims were identified; identification does not mean every victim’s loss was measured or recovered.
- Losses: nearly USD 2.8 million is an agency estimate for the operation, not a precise audited total.
- Recovery: the Ghana example’s USD 70,000 recovered is separate from its USD 450,000 in reported losses.
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