everything you need to know about cybercriminal gangs spreading across Africa

 Investigators say cybercriminal gangs are spreading across Africa.

According to Interpol, the most common cyber threat is banking and credit card fraud.

 Olalekan Jacob Ponle, known as "Mr woodbery" to his Instagram followers, flaunted his wealth
Police and investigators are concerned that organized gangs of fraudsters are spreading across Sub-Saharan Africa, taking advantage of new opportunities created by the Covid-19 pandemic and the global economic crisis to make large sums of money with little risk of being caught.

According to senior police officials, the growth will have a direct impact on the rest of the world, where many victims of "hugely lucrative" fraud live.

Experts link the rise in cybercrime in Africa to the rapid development of internet use at a time when police forces and criminal justice systems have been undermined by the economic ramifications of a succession of significant issues.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened digitization over the world," said Prof Landry Signé, a senior scholar at the Brookings Institution and author of recent research on the topic. "Afrika's states have emerged as a favorite target for cybercriminals, with severe implications."

According to Interpol, the most widespread and significant cyber threat in Africa is banking and credit card fraud. According to specialists at the organization, the Covid-19 outbreak resulted in a persistent spike in the volume of cyber-attacks, including more than twice as many targeting online financial platforms.

A large operation earlier this month coordinated by Interpol in 14 countries highlighted the magnitude of the cybercrime problem on the continent and beyond. In South Africa, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast, as well as Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the United States, police arrested more than 70 accused fraudsters affiliated with the Nigerian criminal network known as Black Axe.

Almost 50 residences were searched, and approximately $1 million was seized from bank accounts. A house, three cars, tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and 12,000 SIM cards were seized.

"It is much larger and more diverse than these 14 countries." We're working with a well-organized global network. These are not opportunists... "We're mapping them out all across the world," Rory Corcoran, acting head of Interpol's new Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, stated.

The recent raids in Africa targeted alleged members of Nigeria's infamous Black Axe gang, which originated in the 1970s as a student movement in Benin City but has since expanded into a global criminal network that specializes in fraud. According to US court documents obtained by the Guardian, the Black Axe leadership officially recognized a regional base in South Africa in 2013.

The investigation that led to the charges last month began in Ireland when local police investigators discovered phones and other devices belonging to Black Axe fraudsters. Investigators recognized the group's lexicon and were able to track it back to West Africa.

However, a former South African criminal intelligence official stated that the impact of operations such as the arrests earlier this month should not be overstated.

"There may be a temporary drop in activity, but does the organization cease to exist?" Not at all. These things are operated very efficiently, and there are workarounds. "You get a lot of publicity for law enforcement, but it's really just a speed bump for the crooks," the official explained.

Arrests, according to Corcoran, have a severe disrupting effect. Improvements in coordination and communication between the banking sector and local police forces have also allowed for much faster tracking, seizure, and restitution of stolen funds.

More than $120 million has been seized this year, denying fraudsters like Black Axe capital that could be re-invested in other forms of crime like forcing young West African women into sex work in Europe, purchasing weapons, or the growing international traffic in methamphetamines.

Former investigators claim that the resumption of air travel during the pandemic has allowed fraudsters to fly back and forth between significant sites of activity. The United Arab Emirates, with its numerous aviation connections and luxurious living options, has long been a popular destination for west African fraudsters, for example. Ramon Abbas, a flashy Nigerian who flaunted a luxury lifestyle fueled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen funds, frequented Dubai.

Abbas, also known as Ray Hushpuppi, had over 2 million Instagram followers before being detained in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2020. His social media images depicted a life of luxury, complete with private aircraft, ultra-expensive cars, designer clothes, and $200,000 watches.

According to the FBI and Interpol, Kenya is also a large hub for digital extortion schemes, while South Africa is a major base for organized criminals operating across the continent.

"In addition to housing Black Axe organizations, South Africa facilitates their proliferation to other regions of the world... Members of Black Axe come to South Africa to gain South African citizenship, which allows them to travel to the United States, Europe, or Dubai," Interpol stated in a statement accompanying the searches this month. A second Nigerian network, the Air Lords, is also said to be active in South Africa.

Many cyber scams in Africa involve the use of phoney romantic relationships to entice victims in order to collect money or personal and financial information.

"There has been a substantial increase in expertise in the area, including hacking and similar crimes, as well as romantic fraud." "There is a body of knowledge about what to do and who to target," said Mark Shaw, director of the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Organized Crime.

In October 2021, seven members of Black Axe and a conspirator were apprehended in Cape Town in a coordinated operation by the FBI, Interpol, and South African authorities. The men were accused of conducting a fraud syndicate that allegedly stole $4 million from roughly 100 US victims over a decade.

According to Gareth Newham, the Institute for Security Studies' head of justice and violence prevention in Pretoria, a lack of resources in cash-strapped economies is not the only issue allowing organized crime to thrive on the continent.

"The budget is not always the issue. The South African police force is well-resourced, but its capacity has deteriorated dramatically. "This has been caused by extremely poor political leadership rather than a shortage of funds," Newham explained.

"At the moment, there is a combination of opportunities for money laundering, deteriorating law enforcement, and the state's limited ability to keep up with a significant increase in cyber activity." "In South Africa, organized crime has really taken up in the last decade, especially in the last five years."

Concerns have been raised that a global focus on African scammers may propagate hazardous stereotypes.

"Perhaps since these are persons who get emails, people refer to these preconceived conceptions in the communal imagination... "However, only a small proportion of cybercrime originates in Africa," Signé explained. "The attacks on advanced economies are coming from geopolitical competitors, not from Africa."