The suspects are alleged to have deceived 1,400 victims for a total of at least the equivalent of 26 million kronor. The arrests were made in July and August and focused on scams where perpetrators build up romantic relationships online to swindle money from the victims or blackmail them with sensitive images, according to the international police organization.
"Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a significant increase in digitally enabled crimes such as 'sextortion' and romance scams," says Cyril Gout, acting head of Interpol's police services, in a statement.
