AI-Powered Tools Are Fueling a Cybercrime Boom in Nigeria, Warns New Interpol Report - BuzzNation
A recent investigation by Interpol has identified Artificial Intelligence as a primary catalyst behind the escalating wave of digital fraud and cyberattacks targeting Nigeria. The report highlights how cybercriminals are leveraging sophisticated generative AI to bypass security protocols, automate phishing scams, and conduct large-scale financial fraud.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now a primary catalyst behind rising cybercrime rates across Africa, according to the 2026 African Cyberthreat Assessment Report from Interpol. The technology is implicated in 55 percent of reported cybercrime incidents on the continent. The report further notes that AI increases the speed and scalability of attacks while simultaneously making them harder for victims and online platforms to identify. At the same time, cybercriminals are leveraging AI to refine methods of fraud, extortion, and identity-based crimes.
Released on Monday, the 40-page report is based on survey responses from 36 African nations and examines cyberthreat activity between January 2024 and September 2025. Nigeria features prominently in the findings, with significant exposure to ransomware, data breaches, business email compromise, cryptocurrency fraud, and money laundering. Interpol further identified South Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, and Namibia as countries where data breaches were especially prevalent during the period under review.
South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Senegal, and Zambia also experienced high levels of ransomware activity, according to the report. Attackers are increasingly directing their efforts toward healthcare institutions, utility companies, and public service portals—a strategy designed to cause maximum operational disruption and strengthen extortion leverage. The assessment further states that TrendAI logged 5,822 ransomware detections in Nigeria in 2025 alone.
The report states that ransomware detections provided by TrendAI reached unprecedented levels in Cabo Verde in 2025, totaling 16,997;the second-highest count across the African continent. Nigeria, by comparison, recorded 5,822 detections, a figure that the report says underscores the country's dual position as both an origin point and a victim base for cybercrime. Separately, Interpol identified business email compromise as the "financial engine" of transnational cybercrime, with AI playing an increasingly prominent role in bolstering these fraudulent operations.
Business email compromise is a scheme in which criminals pose as executives, business partners, or other trusted individuals to trick employees into authorizing money transfers or disclosing sensitive information. The report identifies West Africa as the region with the highest level of BEC detections. Interpol further observes that these operations have grown considerably more sophisticated, with cybercriminals now using AI to craft highly convincing emails that accurately mimic the tone, internal jargon, and signature phrasing of company leaders. According to TrendAI data, South Africa accounted for 70 percent of BEC detections in 2025, while Nigeria represented 29 percent.
According to the research, South African threat actors have targeted US-based businesses by exploiting money mule networks and compromised email accounts to transfer money to offshore accounts.
Additionally, it noted that Nigerian threat actors, who have been involved in international money laundering operations since 2021, are becoming more and more important.
Interpol claims that mobile payment services, dummy corporations, and cryptocurrency exchanges are used to transfer illicit proceeds.
$92 billion in cryptocurrency transactions occur in Nigeria.The growing significance of cryptocurrencies in Africa's cybercrime ecosystem was also emphasized in the research.
According to estimates, the cryptocurrency industry on the continent saw $205 billion in transactions between July 2024 and July 2025, making it a desirable target for fraud.
$92 billion of the transactions during that time came from Nigeria.
Among the African nations deemed most susceptible to data breaches were South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Cybercriminals Take Advantage of Identity Verification Gaps: Interpol investigated the effects of Nigeria's attempts to improve identity verification.
Every SIM card must be connected to a distinct and verified National Identification Number, according to a policy implemented by the National Identity Management Commission in 2024.
According to the analysis, the measure greatly decreased various types of fraud, but hackers quickly reacted by taking advantage of flaws in Know Your Customer enforcement.
Interpol claims that criminals have registered SIM cards under fictitious identities using AI.
The results demonstrate the increasing difficulty that African governments and cybersecurity organizations face as criminals increasingly integrate artificial intelligence with well-established cybercrime networks.
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