INTERPOL’s Operation Jackal IV has resulted in 58 arrests and the identification of 263 additional suspects across six continents — the latest takedown targeting West African organized crime networks that run large-scale online fraud operations. The eight-month operation brought together law enforcement agencies from 22 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and Nigeria, coordinating to dismantle the groups behind romance scams, fake cryptocurrency investment platforms, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
Investigators identified 196 individuals connected to a major crime-as-a-service network that supplied website domains and money laundering infrastructure to these criminal groups. Separately, South African authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate running romance and investment scams that specifically targeted retirees in English-speaking countries. The operation functions like a legitimate enterprise, with members assigned specialized roles such as “conversion agents” and “retention agents” to manage victims at different stages of the scam. INTERPOL noted that groups such as Black Axe are responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud — losses from romance scams and investment fraud alone run into the billions annually.