A major international crackdown on online fraud networks operating in West Africa has resulted in the removal of more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram, the arrest of 28 suspects and the rescue of 117 people trafficked and forced to work in scam centres in Ghana.
The operation, involving Meta and 14 other leading technology companies alongside law enforcement agencies from 10 countries, was described as the largest coordinated disruption of its kind to date. It targeted criminal networks operating in Nigeria, Ghana and other West African countries, whose activities defrauded victims in the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
The exercise was hosted by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in London, in partnership with the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other American federal agencies. It brought together technology companies, financial intelligence specialists and law enforcement representatives to share intelligence and dismantle the digital and financial infrastructure supporting transnational fraud.
Participating technology companies included Meta, Coinbase, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Starlink and Adobe, among others.
According to the organisers, the operation marked the first joint international disruption broadly targeting scam centres in West Africa, reflecting growing concern that criminal networks are shifting their operations to new locations as authorities intensify pressure on established fraud hubs elsewhere.
Millions of accounts taken down
As part of the operation, Meta removed more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram that were linked to suspicious activities originating in West Africa. Investigators found that many appeared to target victims in the United States and Britain through profiles impersonating American and British users.
Microsoft also suspended accounts suspected of involvement in the fraudulent activities.
Beyond the digital takedowns, authorities received intelligence leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres. Law enforcement agencies confirmed 28 arrests and the rescue of 117 people who had allegedly been trafficked into scam operations in Ghana.
The victims were reportedly held against their will in a residential compound, where they were forced to work for criminal syndicates. Authorities said the rescued individuals were malnourished and had suffered physical and psychological abuse. Their captors were arrested and are facing prosecution.
The operation also delivered financial benefits for potential victims. Coinbase said it identified more than 65 active scam victims and prevented potential losses exceeding $415,000 before the money could be transferred.
Intelligence gathered during the exercise is expected to support further investigations and strengthen the ability of participating companies to identify, monitor and disrupt criminal networks operating across digital platforms and international borders.
Cross-border cooperation at the centre of operation
The operation began on October 6, when the NCA convened representatives of technology companies and law enforcement agencies at its London headquarters. Participants included officials from Nigeria and Ghana, as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India.
The US agencies involved included the FBI, Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, the US Secret Service, the Department of the Treasury and the Homeland Security Task Force.
Over several days, participating teams exchanged actionable intelligence linking online accounts, telecommunications infrastructure, financial transactions and suspected physical locations. The approach enabled investigators to examine different stages of criminal operations, from recruitment and the creation of fraudulent online identities to the identification of victims and the movement of illicit proceeds.
Chris Sonderby, Meta’s vice-president and deputy general counsel, said the operation demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in tackling online fraud.
“Scams are a global threat that demand a global response,” Sonderby said.
He added that the operation resulted in the removal of millions of accounts targeting people in the United States, Britain and other countries, while intelligence shared with authorities generated leads on suspected scam centres.
“This operation shows what partnership makes possible, and we’ll keep working with law enforcement and industry to pursue scammers wherever they operate,” he said.
Nick Sharp, deputy director of fraud at the NCA, said international cooperation was essential because criminal networks could operate from one country while targeting victims thousands of kilometres away.
“Fraud is a global problem and it takes partnership working across international boundaries to tackle it,” Sharp said.
He noted that the collaboration had enabled authorities to strike at a significant group of criminals responsible for inflicting financial and emotional harm on victims.
“The NCA will continue to work with international and private sector partners to tackle fraudsters working upstream, overseas, and online,” he added.
FBI reports seizures and potential recoveries
FBI Director Kash Patel said cooperation between law enforcement agencies and private-sector partners had helped investigators make arrests, seize hundreds of devices and identify substantial sums potentially available for recovery or freezing.
“Thanks to brilliant partnership with the Department of Justice and the private sector, across multiple African countries, we arrested dozens of criminal actors, seized hundreds of devices, identified at least $11 million in potentially freezable funds, and truly saved lives,” Patel said.
He described the operation as part of a broader effort to dismantle scam centres and hold accountable criminal organisations targeting American citizens.
Jeanine Ferris Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia and founder of the Scam Center Strike Force, said authorities were pursuing cases on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Transnational fraud demands a transnational response,” Pirro said, adding that investigators would deploy wherever criminals targeted innocent victims across international borders.
Lord Hanson, Britain's minister for fraud, said criminal gangs operating overseas were responsible for many scams affecting the British public. He said the country's proposed Online Crime Centre would build on existing cooperation to dismantle networks and bring offenders to justice.
Multiple fraud schemes uncovered
Investigators identified several types of fraud associated with the criminal networks, including cryptocurrency investment scams, fake employment offers, romance fraud, impersonation of law enforcement officers and military personnel, non-delivery scams and fraudulent money-recovery services.
In investment scams, criminals often establish apparently genuine romantic or professional relationships with victims before persuading them to invest in fictitious opportunities, including cryptocurrency schemes.
Job and task scams typically involve fake employment offers or online assignments designed to persuade victims to pay upfront fees or transfer money. Other fraudsters impersonate police officers or government officials to threaten victims with supposed legal consequences unless they make payments.
Romance scams exploit emotional relationships developed through online platforms, while non-delivery schemes involve sellers receiving payment for goods or services that are never supplied.
Authorities also highlighted recovery scams, in which people who have already lost money to fraudsters are targeted again with promises that their funds can be retrieved in exchange for an advance payment.
The range of schemes underscores how criminal networks combine social engineering, digital infrastructure and financial transactions to exploit victims across multiple countries.
Technology firms strengthen anti-fraud efforts
Several participating companies said the operation demonstrated the value of combining private-sector intelligence with law enforcement powers.
Leah Bressack, vice-president at Coinbase, said the company's global intelligence team was tracking financial flows, freezing assets where possible and sharing information with authorities as criminal networks attempted to establish operations in Africa.
Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit also emphasised the importance of coordinated action. Steven Masada, its associate general counsel and general manager, said no single organisation had access to the full picture of a transnational fraud network.
“Joint disruption weeks turn shared intelligence into action,” Masada said.
OpenAI's lead scams investigator, Jack Stubbs, said artificial intelligence could help strengthen efforts to detect and disrupt fraud operations.
“AI gives scam fighters powerful new tools,” Stubbs said. He added that responsible information-sharing between technology companies and law enforcement could help identify criminal networks operating across platforms and build stronger collective defences.
Cybersecurity and blockchain intelligence firms also contributed to the operation. Silent Push said it mapped more than 35,000 malicious domains and nearly 700 communication channels linked to scam centres across Africa, helping investigators connect online infrastructure to physical locations and suspected operators.
TRM Labs said it helped trace suspected scam proceeds, identify infrastructure behind dozens of fraudulent websites and uncover a large peer-to-peer money-laundering network linked to activity in West Africa, the United States and Britain.
Starlink, meanwhile, reiterated its commitment to disabling equipment involved in illegal activity and working with international authorities to counter criminal exploitation of its services.
Focus shifts to criminal networks behind scams
Online fraud has become increasingly organised, with criminal groups running operations that resemble conventional businesses. These networks recruit workers, train them in social engineering and coordinate campaigns across multiple digital platforms to reach potential victims.
In some cases, people recruited into these operations are themselves victims of trafficking, forced to carry out fraudulent activities under threats, confinement or abuse.
The latest operation highlights the connection between online financial fraud and wider organised crime, particularly where scam centres rely on coercion, human trafficking and complex systems for transferring illicit funds.
Although the operation resulted in substantial digital disruptions and the rescue of trafficking victims, participating agencies indicated that investigations would continue as authorities seek to identify additional suspects, trace criminal proceeds and prevent the networks from rebuilding their operations elsewhere.
The NCA said it would continue working with international partners and technology companies to pursue fraudsters regardless of where they operate.
For the participating organisations, the central objective is to make it more difficult for criminal groups to recruit workers, reach victims, move stolen money and maintain the infrastructure needed to run large-scale scams.
The operation signals a growing international commitment to confront online fraud at its source, combining technology, financial intelligence and law enforcement action to protect victims and bring those responsible to justice.