Interpol says AI is now the engine room of African cybercrime, and the crooks are automating everything
Ourtake
Criminals have found AI can handle reconnaissance, phishing and extortion, and the paperwork is still catching up.
What happened
An Interpol report says AI was involved in 55 percent of reported cybercrimes in Africa in 2025, becoming the core operational driver of cybercrime there. Financial losses more than doubled from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million, and about 600,000 deepfake-involved digital extortion cases were recorded across 36 countries.