Meta has removed more than 3.7 million accounts, Pages and Groups from Facebook and Instagram following an international crackdown on online fraud networks operating across West Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana.
The operation involved law enforcement agencies from 10 countries and 15 technology companies, resulting in 28 arrests, the identification of more than 30 suspected scam centres and the rescue of 117 people allegedly trafficked and forced to work in scam operations in Ghana.
The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, NCA, coordinated the exercise with the United States Department of Justice, DOJ, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, targeting criminal networks operating across the region.
Meta described the exercise as the first coordinated effort to broadly target scam networks in West Africa. Many of the removed accounts reportedly targeted victims in the United States and the United Kingdom through profiles impersonating American and British users.
The networks also targeted people in Germany, Brazil, Japan, India, South Africa, Turkey and Nigeria. Technology companies involved included Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Coinbase, Adobe and Starlink.
The DOJ said Nigerian authorities arrested nine people and seized 53 electronic devices during the operation.
In Ghana, authorities arrested 19 people in Sasaabi, near Accra, and seized 303 electronic devices. They also identified 117 people allegedly held against their will and forced to participate in scam operations. The DOJ said the victims were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
Authorities also identified 89 people allegedly defrauded, with estimated losses of about $8.3 million.
The operation targeted several forms of online fraud, including cryptocurrency investment scams, fake job offers, romance scams, online sales fraud and impersonation of law enforcement officers and military personnel.
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Investigators also targeted recovery scams, in which fraudsters demand upfront payments from previous victims while promising to recover their lost money.
Microsoft suspended accounts suspected of involvement in the activities, while cybersecurity firm Silent Push mapped more than 35,000 malicious domains and nearly 700 communication channels linked to suspected scam centres.
Coinbase said it identified more than 65 active scam victims and prevented potential losses exceeding $415,000. The DOJ said private-sector partners had identified more than $11 million in funds that could potentially be frozen.
Meta’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Chris Son-derby, said the operation demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in tackling online fraud.
“Scams are a global threat that demand a global response,” he said.
Son-derby added that intelligence on more than 30 suspected scam centres had contributed to arrests, victim rescues and cryptocurrency seizures.
The NCA’s Deputy Director of Fraud, Nick Sharp, said international partnerships were essential because fraudsters could operate in one country while targeting victims in another.
Sharp pledged continued cooperation between law enforcement agencies and private-sector partners to disrupt criminal networks and the infrastructure supporting their activities.
Vanguard
