International police dismantle cybercrime group in West Africa

Eight suspected cybercriminals were arrested in Côte d’Ivoire as part of an ongoing international operation, according to a statement by Interpol.

The suspects were involved in “large-scale” phishing scams targeting Swiss citizens.

The fraudsters used QR codes to direct victims to malicious websites that mimicked legitimate payment platforms, where they asked their victims to enter personal information such as login details and card numbers. To gain the trust of their targets, the hackers posed as buyers on small advertising websites or impersonated customer service agents.

According to Interpol, the scam resulted in reported financial losses of over $1.4 million. Swiss authorities received over 260 reports related to the scam between August 2023 and April 2024.

During the investigation, law enforcement located and arrested the main suspect behind the attacks, who confessed to the scheme and making over $1.9 million from it. Five other suspects were conducting cybercriminal activities at the same location.

The investigation is ongoing as police try to identify additional victims, recover stolen funds and trace goods purchased with illicit proceeds.

The arrests are part of the Contender 2.0 operation, launched in 2021, according to Interpol. The operation targets a variety of cyber threats, including business email compromise (BEC) schemes, romance scams and other financial crimes within the African region, particularly in West Africa.

Earlier this week, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.K. was sentenced to seven years in U.S. prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar BEC scheme. The criminal, known as John Edwards, defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million and attempted to steal more than $3 million from entities in Texas, including local government agencies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.