Cryptocurrency has been pitched as Africa’s path to financial inclusion, but for a growing number of users, it’s become the bait in increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. According to INTERPOL’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report, suspected scam notifications have spiked by nearly 3,000% in some African countries, driven by everything from fake AI trading platforms and counterfeit smartphones loaded with malware, to hijacked social media accounts of prominent public figures used to lend scams false legitimacy.
TechTrends Media sat down with Allan Juma, Lead Cyber Security Engineer at ESET East and Southern Africa, to unpack what’s fueling this surge, the tactics fraudsters are using to exploit Africa’s rapid digital adoption, and why the continent’s regulatory frameworks are struggling to keep pace.
Allan also shares practical steps users can take to protect their funds and identities in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.
How would you describe the current landscape of cryptocurrency scams and cyberfrauds in Africa?
Citing recent reports from bodies like Interpol and Afrepol, the current landscape is an escalating security crisis. Suspected scam notifications have surged, with INTERPOL’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report revealing a nearly 3,000% spike across some African countries. Africa is simultaneously a source and a target for sophisticated cybercrime. The complexity of these threats ranges from locally-run Ponzi schemes to intricate, coordinated cross-border fraud syndicates. The continent’s rapid digital adoption has outpaced both regulation and financial literacy, creating a near-perfect environment for fraudsters.
What are some of the factors driving the rise of crypto-related fraud across the African digital financial ecosystem? And what are some of the most common types of cryptocurrency scams targeting users in Africa?
The factors driving the rise of crypto-related fraud include economic vulnerabilities, where instability, currency devaluation, and poverty make African users an attractive target, as well as literacy and oversight gaps, including financial illiteracy and weak regulation. Some of the most common types of crypto scams include Ponzi and pyramid schemes, fake AI-powered trading platforms, romance scams funneling into fake crypto investments, phishing via WhatsApp and SMS, business email compromise, and fraudulent mobile loan apps.
Why are investment-based crypto scams particularly effective in attracting individuals?
Investment-based crypto scams are effective for several compelling reasons, making them highly appealing to first-time investors across the continent. Firstly, the region has seen an explosive growth in mobile connectivity, coupled with a concerted drive to make internet access more affordable for everyone. Secondly, this digital acceleration has coincided with a very young population eager to explore avenues of quick wealth creation.The instability and tendency toward hyperinflation in many local currencies significantly heighten this appeal, positioning crypto investments as a seemingly attractive alternative.
What roles do fake trading platforms and fraudulent mobile apps play in these schemes?
Africa’s fast-growing mobile and fintech ecosystems are fertile ground for fake apps and trading platforms designed to exploit human trust. Fraudulent apps are the preferred vehicle because mobile penetration in Africa has outpaced financial literacy and regulatory oversight. Researchers at Palo Alto Networks uncovered a campaign responsible for creating a large number of scam crypto investment platforms distributed via both websites and mobile apps, primarily targeting users in East Africa. Fraudulent loan applications are a particularly acute issue. Operation Red Card 2.0 (December 2025 – January 2026) specifically targeted this infrastructure behind high-yield investment scams, mobile money fraud, and fraudulent mobile loan applications. A second major threat comes from counterfeit mobile phones, which acts as a ‘Trojan Horse’ for malware delivery. There are two levels to this:
- Pre-installed malware at the factory level: Counterfeit versions of popular smartphone models are sold at discounted prices which make them appealing to the masses. These phones come already infected with bloatware and malware that are configured to download malicious payloads, including infecting cryptocurrency applications with a stealer that intercepts transaction requests.
- The second level is lack of standardisation which creates a regulatory vacuum. The absence of a unified mobile device standard across Africa creates compounding risks where the continent literally is a dumping ground for all manner of phones, the counterfeit, the inherently weak and the possible contamination of legitimate brands.
What are some of the warning signs that users often overlook when engaging in crypto investment opportunities?
Despite the growing threat, the biggest red flags are routinely ignored. These include:
- Guaranteed returns: No legitimate investment can guarantee profit. Promises of 100% returns or companies with less than four years of operational history are classic but routinely ignored red flags.
- Urgency or immediate action: Scammers use this tactic to create a‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) trigger, preying on the desire for a quick windfall of money.
- Unverified Applications or APK downloads: As mentioned earlier, fake applications are the driving force of these scams.
What makes wallet theft and credential harvesting such a major threat in the crypto space?
Wallet theft and credential harvesting pose a major threat in crypto space because they target the user’s private keys or login credentials, which are the sole controllers of access to funds and offer no possibility of recovery or reversal. Unlike traditional banking, there is no central authority to restore stolen assets once they are transferred, meaning any successful breach is final. Attackers use highly scalable methods such as phishing websites, fake wallet apps, malicious browser extensions, and social engineering to trick users into revealing seed phrases or approving fraudulent transactions. These tactics exploit human error, urgency, and limited security awareness, especially in mobile-first environments where users often rely on unofficial applications or links. Once credentials are compromised, funds can be drained instantly, and victims are frequently targeted again by secondary “recovery” scams, which compounds the damage.
How are scammers exploiting trust in social media platforms to promote fraudulent crypto schemes? Cybercriminals are increasingly taking over the social media accounts of high-profile African figures from Ghana’s President John Mahama to South Africa’s Julius Malema and in Kenya, the late Raila Odinga’s account to exploit their widespread influence and promote cryptocurrency scams. Beyond these account hijacking tactics, the DCI in Kenya dismantled the infamous Mulot boys cartel. This operation, carried out at the busy Mulot market, was part of a broader effort to curb digital fraud, which has become increasingly common across Kenya.
How well are the current regulatory frameworks addressing cryptocurrency scams and cyberfraud in Africa?
And what challenges do law enforcement agencies face when investigating cross–border crypto fraud networks? The regulatory picture is improving but remains dangerously fragmented. As of 2025, countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, and Zambia have no dedicated crypto laws or official licensing systems for crypto businesses, while Kenya only signed its Virtual Asset Service Providers Act into law in October 2025, and is still undergoing nationwide consultation on the newly drafted regulations. Even where frameworks exist, enforcement lags severely. In Nigeria, while the legal framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers exists under the Investment and Securities Act 2025, there are no active enforcement measures or penalties established. Law enforcement faces several core challenges: the pseudonymity and cross-border nature of cryptocurrency. Only 30% of African countries have incident reporting systems, 29% having digital evidence repositories, and 19% having cyber threat intelligence databases. When perpetrators operate from foreign jurisdictions, the required international cooperation is slow and resource-intensive
What practical steps can users take to protect themselves from cryptocurrency scams and cyber fraud?
Users should:
- Verify licensing: Always confirm that the platform is officially licensed by the national financial regulator (e.g. the CBK in Kenya) before committing funds
- Never click on unsolicited links: Go directly to official URLs. Never click on links received via SMS, WhatsApp, or email.
- Enable multi-factor authentication: Implement multi-factor authentication on all crypto and financial accounts to add a necessary layer of security
- Be skeptical of app-store applications: Only download applications from verified developers with substantial track records and independent reviews.
- Purchase mobile phones from authorised retailers only, to avoid devices with pre-installed malware and bloatware.
- Never share private keys or seed phrases with anyone, under any circumstance.
- Treat any promise of guaranteed profits as an automatic red flag. No legitimate investment that can offer such certainty.
- If you suspect remote access software like AnyDesk or TeamViewer has been installed on your device under the guise of ‘technical support’, treat the device as immediately compromised.
Any closing remarks?
Africa’s crypto and cyber fraud crisis is much more than a technology problem. It is the result of several factors such as economic hardship, infrastructural gaps, regulatory immaturity, and the persistent exploitation of public trust by sophisticated criminal networks. If we fail to establish proper guard rails, the continent’s vital digital financial revolution, intended to empower its people, will instead be weaponised against them. Addressing this requires a unified effort, where regulators, telecoms, financial institutions, device manufacturers, and citizens all act in concert, as no single entity can close every gap. For now, awareness remains the most cost-effective and scalable defense we have.
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