Omanghana
INTERPOL has warned of a sharp increase in artificial intelligence-powered sextortion scams targeting internet users in Ghana, particularly young adults.
The warning was contained in INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, published on Monday, August 3, 2026. The report explains how criminal networks are using generative AI to automate digital blackmail and target victims on a much larger scale.
According to the assessment, financial losses recorded among Ghanaian victims between the ages of 18 and 24 increased fivefold in 2025, highlighting the growing vulnerability of young social media users.
The criminals reportedly begin by searching public social media accounts and collecting ordinary photographs posted by potential victims. They then use AI tools to transform the images into realistic-looking but fabricated sexually explicit content.
Victims are threatened with the release of the manipulated images to their relatives, friends, employers or wider online networks unless they make payments. The money is commonly demanded through cryptocurrency platforms or mobile money wallets.
Even after an initial payment is made, the blackmail may continue, with criminals repeatedly demanding additional money. INTERPOL therefore advises victims not to comply with payment demands, as doing so does not guarantee that the threats will stop.
The report described cybercrime in Africa as an increasingly borderless and organized commercial operation rather than a collection of isolated offences. Automation is allowing criminal networks to target thousands of people across different countries simultaneously.
INTERPOL estimates that AI now facilitates about 55 per cent of reported cybercrime across Africa. The technology is being used to expand sextortion, phishing, impersonation, identity theft and other forms of online fraud.
The continent’s recorded financial losses from cybercrime reportedly more than doubled from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million.
Beyond sextortion, cybercriminals are using AI to create synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated data. Such identities can be used to deceive financial institutions, telecommunications companies and digital platforms.
The report warns that increasingly sophisticated AI-generated faces, documents and videos may also help criminals bypass biometric identity-verification systems.
Despite the growing threat, coordinated international law-enforcement campaigns are producing results. Operations such as Sentinel and Serengeti have reportedly resulted in more than 1,500 arrests across national borders and the recovery of approximately $100 million in illicit funds.
Ghanaian authorities have also intensified their response to cybercrime. In a recent operation targeting online fraud networks, security personnel arrested 68 suspects and seized hundreds of electronic devices for forensic examination.
Members of the public are advised to strengthen the privacy settings on their social media accounts, avoid accepting requests from unknown individuals and report blackmail attempts immediately.
Victims should preserve messages, payment demands, usernames, wallet addresses and other relevant evidence before blocking the perpetrators and reporting the incident to law-enforcement authorities. They should also remember that fabricated explicit images are a form of abuse and that responsibility lies entirely with the criminals who created and circulated them.
Source: Omanghana
