A crackdown on cybercrime coordinated by Interpol has led to 260 arrests across 14 African countries suspected of online romance and extortion scams.

The operation took place in July and August and focused on scams in which perpetrators build online romantic relationships to extract money from targets or blackmail them with explicit images, Interpol said on Friday local time.

Altogether the scams targeted more than 1,400 victims who lost nearly $US2.8 million ($4.29 million), the international police organisation said.

"Cybercrime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams," Cyril Gout, acting executive director of police services at Interpol, said.

"The growth of online platforms has opened new opportunities for crimin

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