Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving more than half of cybercrime cases across Africa, according to the INTERPOL African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, a finding that reinforces the urgency of Ghana’s newly launched National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and its focus on strengthening the country’s cyber resilience.
The report found that 55% of cybercrime cases recorded in 2025 involved AI, with cybercriminals increasingly using the technology to generate convincing phishing messages, create deepfake audio and video, impersonate trusted individuals, automate online fraud and develop more sophisticated malware.
INTERPOL warned that AI has fundamentally changed the cyber threat landscape by enabling criminals to carry out attacks on a much larger scale while making them more difficult to detect. The report also revealed that deepfake-related incidents increased sevenfold between the second and fourth quarters of 2024.
The assessment, which draws on intelligence from law enforcement agencies in 36 African countries, describes cybercrime as one of the continent’s fastest-growing security threats and calls for stronger cybersecurity legislation, digital forensic capabilities, cross-border intelligence sharing and AI-powered defensive tools.
The findings come just months after President John Dramani Mahama launched Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, backed by a US$270 million investment to position the country as an AI-enabled economy by 2035.
At the launch in April 2026, President Mahama said Ghana would not become “a passive consumer” of artificial intelligence but would actively develop, govern and deploy the technology for national transformation.
The strategy includes the establishment of a National AI Computing Centre, a National AI Office under the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, and a National AI Fund to support research, innovation and long-term AI development.
Beyond creating jobs and accelerating digital innovation, the INTERPOL report suggests the strategy will also play a critical national security role. As cybercriminals increasingly weaponise AI, investments in AI research, cybersecurity, digital skills and governance could help Ghana better detect, prevent and respond to emerging cyber threats.
The report also has significant implications for higher education. As government expands AI education and research under the National AI Strategy, universities and technical institutions are expected to train more specialists in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science and digital forensics—skills that will be essential not only for Ghana’s digital economy but also for protecting the country against increasingly sophisticated AI-enabled cybercrime.
Mobile money fraud remains one of Africa’s most widespread cyber threats. According to INTERPOL, 97% of participating countries identified mobile money scams as a major concern, with Ghana recording losses of about US$1.3 million during the first quarter of 2025.
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