Artificial intelligence has officially crossed a threshold that security experts have been warning about for years. More than half of all reported cybercrimes across Africa now involve AI in some capacity, according to a new INTERPOL assessment that paints a stark picture of how quickly the technology has been weaponized.
The INTERPOL African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, released on August 3, found that AI is linked to 55% of reported cyber incidents on the continent. The financial damage has been staggering: losses surged from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million, more than doubling in just two years.
The industrialization of cybercrime
The report highlights three primary vectors driving the surge: AI-related scams, credential harvesting, and automated social engineering.
Online scams remain the most commonly reported offenses, with AI technologies like synthetic identities and deepfakes making them dramatically more convincing.
