– Meta, Coinbase, Microsoft join crackdown on West <a href="https://absafricatv.com/centre-showcasing-black-and-african-culture-opens-in-london/” title=”Centre showcasing black and African culture opens in London”>African scams; 117 trafficking victims rescued in Ghana
Meta, Adobe, Coinbase, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Starlink and other technology companies have joined law enforcement agencies from 10 countries in a coordinated effort to disrupt online fraud operations in West Africa. The operation led to the removal of more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram, 28 arrests and the rescue of 117 people who had been trafficked and forced to work at scam centres in Ghana.
The effort brought together private technology companies and investigators from countries including India, the US, the UK, Ghana and Nigeria. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) hosted the operation at its London headquarters from October 6, working with the US Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other American agencies.
The companies and authorities exchanged information on suspected criminals, online infrastructure and financial transactions to identify connections between fraud operations across different platforms and countries. The investigation also generated leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres.
Meta takes down millions of accounts
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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 used profiles posing as American or British users to approach potential victims.
Microsoft also suspended accounts suspected of involvement in the activity. Other participating companies helped investigators examine the digital infrastructure used to run scams, identify people at risk and trace money linked to suspected criminal operations.
Coinbase said its investigations team identified more than 65 people who were actively being targeted by scammers. The company reported preventing potential losses of more than $415,000.
Trafficking victims found at Ghana scam compound
The operation also exposed the human cost of the fraud networks. Authorities rescued 117 people who had been trafficked to Ghana and compelled to work for criminal groups. The victims were found in a residential compound where they had been held against their will.
According to the participating organisations, the rescued individuals were malnourished and had suffered physical and psychological abuse. The people responsible for holding them were arrested and face prosecution.
The networks were involved in several forms of fraud. These included investment schemes that used fabricated personal or professional relationships to gain victims’ trust, fake job offers requiring upfront payments, and romance scams designed to persuade people to send money.
Investigators also identified cases involving criminals posing as law enforcement officers or military personnel, fraudulent online sales and schemes that promised to recover money lost in earlier scams in exchange for advance fees.
FBI reports seizures and potentially freezable funds
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. These funds have not been described as money already recovered.
Technology and cybersecurity firms contributed intelligence to help investigators connect online activity with suspected criminal operators. 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 described their contributions to tracing suspected proceeds and identifying infrastructure linked to fraud operations. The information was intended to help authorities investigate the networks and take action against those involved.
India among participating countries
India was among the countries involved in the operation, along with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ghana and Nigeria. Several US agencies also participated, including the Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Treasury Department and the Homeland Security Task Force.
Meta’s vice president and deputy general counsel, Chris Sonderby, said the operation demonstrated the value of cooperation between technology companies and law enforcement in pursuing fraud networks across borders. He said Meta would continue sharing information and working with partners to disrupt such operations.
The NCA said collaboration between investigators and private companies helped turn intelligence gathered across different systems and jurisdictions into enforcement action. The agency also stressed that criminal groups could target victims internationally regardless of where they were based.
The companies said the operation was the first coordinated disruption of its kind to broadly target scam centres in West Africa. They also warned that criminal networks can shift their operations between regions, making sustained international cooperation important to identifying and disrupting them.
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First Published onOctober 14, 2026, 09:04:25 IST
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