The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has announced the arrest of 5,811 suspected internet fraudsters and the recovery of illicit assets worth over $293 million during a coordinated global anti-fraud operation involving 97 countries and territories.
The operation, codenamed Operation First Light 2026, was carried out between January 15 and April 30, 2026, targeting cyber-enabled financial crimes, particularly social engineering scams and the money laundering networks supporting them.
In a statement issued on Thursday, INTERPOL said the operation exposed the growing scale of online fraud worldwide, with more than 142,000 victims identified across participating countries.
The organisation described social engineering as fraudulent schemes that exploit victims’ trust to obtain money or confidential information. Such scams include business email compromise, romance fraud, investment scams, impersonation, sextortion and other forms of online deception.
According to INTERPOL, investigators analysed 152,808 cases, solved 23,715, identified 15,606 suspects, blocked 31,014 bank accounts, and issued 99 international notices and diffusions during the operation.
Director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, Tomonobu Kaya, said cyber-enabled fraud remained a major global security challenge requiring coordinated international action.
“Social engineering scams continue to pose a significant threat to our society. Criminal syndicates exploit human psychology to manipulate their targets, and no nation can stay safe unless all countries are equipped and committed to jointly fighting back,” Kaya said.
He added that INTERPOL would continue supporting member countries in developing coordinated strategies to combat cyber-enabled financial crimes, organised criminal networks and the money laundering activities that sustain them.
INTERPOL said the operation recorded significant enforcement actions in several countries, including Nigeria, China, Thailand, Singapore and Eswatini.
As part of the Nigerian operation, INTERPOL, working with the Nigeria Police Force, arrested and extradited Samuel “PutSammy” Ugberaese, a Nigerian internet fraud suspect based in South Africa, to the United States over his alleged involvement in multi-million-dollar romance scams.
The global police body noted that the success of Operation First Light 2026 underscored the importance of international collaboration in tackling increasingly sophisticated transnational cybercrime networks.
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