[EMBARGO] Meta leads largest-ever anti-scam operation with FBI and DOJ, resulting in 63 arrests
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National fraud enforcement official discusses task force crackdown

Colin McDonald, the Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement, highlights the remarkable breadth of the federal government’s current anti-fraud campaign. He shares that within just 52 days, the task force has initiated over 450 significant law enforcement actions, including executing search warrants, making arrests, and securing convictions. McDonald emphasizes the pivotal contribution of state partnerships and public whistleblowers in pursuing justice against those exploiting the elderly and vulnerable, aiming to ensure the most rigorous prosecution possible.

A massive anti-fraud operation spearheaded by Meta, with support from the FBI, Department of Justice, Microsoft, Coinbase, and Starlink, has led to 63 arrests, the freezing of millions in cryptocurrency, and the dismantling of over a million scam-related online accounts, as revealed by officials on Tuesday.

Meta characterized this operation as its largest anti-scam initiative to date, marking the first time the company has orchestrated a joint effort involving major tech firms, financial platforms, and law enforcement agencies to combat the broader fraud landscape.

Commencing on May 18, the two-week operation united the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force, under the leadership of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro, with the FBI, Royal Thai Police, Microsoft, Coinbase, Starlink, and other international law enforcement collaborators.

The campaign stretched across Washington, D.C., and Thailand, also enlisting the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement bodies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Thailand.

In a multinational crackdown focused on fraud networks targeting Americans, Thai authorities apprehended 63 individuals allegedly tied to scam centers.

The operation targeted criminal scam networks that authorities say steal billions of dollars from Americans each year through romance scams, cryptocurrency investment fraud and other fraudulent schemes. Officials said many of the organizations operate from forced-labor compounds in Southeast Asia linked to transnational organized crime groups.

Authorities have also warned that some people working inside Southeast Asian scam compounds are trafficking victims coerced into carrying out fraud, while law enforcement efforts have focused on alleged organizers, recruiters, money launderers and network operators.

“Protecting people around the world from scams is one of our highest priorities,” Chris Sonderby, Meta’s vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement.

Sonderby said the operation “demonstrates the power of partnerships to combat scammers.”

Law enforcement agencies from multiple countries coordinated efforts to disrupt scam compounds operating in Southeast Asia. (Meta)

“We’re proud to partner with industry and DOJ, FBI, Royal Thai Police, and other law enforcement agencies in taking this global fight directly to these Asia-based scam centers at their source,” he added.

As part of the operation, Meta removed approximately 1.4 million scam accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram.

The Royal Thai Police arrested 63 individuals allegedly connected to scam centers.

Authorities said the operation targeted criminal organizations involved in romance scams, investment fraud and other online schemes.

Authorities said the operation targeted criminal organizations involved in romance scams, investment fraud and other online schemes. (Meta)

Coinbase froze more than $3 million in cryptocurrency assets tied to criminal networks.

Microsoft disabled roughly 20,000 accounts linked to scam operations, Meta said. Starlink disrupted thousands of internet terminals associated with the networks, according to Meta.

Authorities also identified dozens of previously unknown scam compounds and criminal networks, which were referred to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

Meta said the effort marked its third joint operation with the DOJ Scam Center Strike Force since December 2025.

The scale of the operation has grown dramatically, from 59,000 scam assets removed in December to 150,000 in March and 1.4 million in the latest crackdown, according to Meta.

Across all three operations, the company said it has removed more than 1.6 million scam accounts, pages and groups and provided intelligence that helped lead to 84 arrests by the Royal Thai Police.

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