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MUMBAI: The crackdown has gone beyond fake profiles, with investigators uncovering the human cost behind the scams. Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Adobe, Coinbase, Starlink and other technology companies have joined law enforcement agencies from 10 countries in a coordinated operation targeting online fraud networks in West Africa, leading to the removal of more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups, 28 arrests and the rescue of 117 people trafficked to scam centres in Ghana.
The operation brought together investigators and technology firms to trace suspected criminals, identify digital infrastructure and follow financial transactions across platforms and borders. Hosted by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) at its London headquarters from 6 October, the effort involved the US Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other American agencies, alongside authorities from countries including India, Ghana and Nigeria.
Investigators also generated leads linked to more than 30 suspected scam centres, highlighting how online fraud can be connected to organised criminal operations on the ground.
Meta said most of the accounts, pages and groups it removed were based in West Africa and appeared to target people in the US and UK. Many allegedly used profiles posing as American or British users to approach potential victims and build trust.
Microsoft also suspended accounts suspected of involvement, while participating technology companies helped investigators examine the digital infrastructure used to operate scams, identify people at risk and trace funds linked to suspected criminal activity.
Coinbase said its investigations team identified more than 65 people who were actively being targeted by scammers. The company reported preventing potential losses exceeding $415,000.
The networks were linked to several types of fraud, including investment schemes built around fabricated personal or professional relationships, fake job offers demanding upfront payments and romance scams designed to persuade victims to transfer money.
Investigators also identified schemes involving criminals impersonating law enforcement officers or military personnel, fraudulent online sales and advance-fee offers promising to recover money lost in earlier scams.
The operation exposed a darker side of the fraud networks, with authorities rescuing 117 people who had allegedly been trafficked to Ghana and forced to work for criminal groups.
The victims were found in a residential compound where they had been held against their will. Participating organisations said they were malnourished and had suffered physical and psychological abuse. Those responsible for holding them were arrested and face prosecution.
The case underlines how online scams can extend beyond financial deception, with criminal networks allegedly exploiting trafficked people to carry out fraud.
The FBI said the wider enforcement effort involved the seizure of hundreds of devices and the identification of at least $11 million in funds that could potentially be frozen. The amount has not been described as money already recovered.
Cybersecurity firm Silent Push said it mapped more than 35,000 malicious domains and nearly 700 communication channels associated with scam centres operating across Africa.
Blockchain intelligence companies Chainalysis and TRM Labs also contributed information to help trace suspected proceeds and identify infrastructure connected to the fraud networks. The intelligence was intended to support investigations and enforcement action against those involved.
India was among the countries involved, alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ghana and Nigeria, with US agencies also participating. These included the Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Treasury Department and the Homeland Security Task Force.
Meta vice president and deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said cooperation between technology companies and law enforcement was important in pursuing fraud networks operating across borders. Meta said it would continue sharing information and working with partners to disrupt such activity.
The NCA said collaboration helped turn intelligence gathered across different systems and jurisdictions into enforcement action. It also warned that criminal groups could target victims internationally, regardless of where they operate.
The companies described the initiative as the first coordinated disruption of its kind to broadly target scam centres in West Africa. They cautioned, however, that criminal networks could move their operations between regions, making sustained international cooperation essential to identifying and disrupting them.
