Meta has announced the removal of more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram in a multinational crackdown on online fraud networks operating in West Africa.
The operation also led to the discovery of more than 30 suspected scam centres, the arrest of 28 individuals and the rescue of 117 people allegedly trafficked and forced to work in fraudulent operations in Ghana.
Meta disclosed the development in a web post on Tuesday, saying the exercise was coordinated by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), in partnership with the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement bodies.
The operation brought together 14 other technology companies and law enforcement agencies from 10 countries to disrupt organised fraud activities targeting victims across international borders.
According to Meta, the 117 rescued victims had allegedly been confined against their will in a residential compound in Ghana, where they suffered malnutrition and physical and psychological abuse.
The company said the accounts, pages and groups removed from its platforms were largely associated with schemes targeting people in the United States and the United Kingdom.
It added that many of the accounts used profiles designed to impersonate American and British individuals to deceive unsuspecting users.
Microsoft also took action by suspending accounts suspected of being connected to the fraudulent operations.
In a related intervention, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase identified more than 65 active scam victims and prevented potential losses of over $415,000, according to Meta.
Other technology companies involved in the operation included Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Coinbase, Starlink and Adobe. Law enforcement agencies from Nigeria, Ghana, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India also participated.
Meta said the joint effort allowed the organisations to exchange intelligence across online platforms, financial systems and national jurisdictions, making it easier to identify criminal networks and disrupt their operations.
The fraudulent activities targeted included cryptocurrency investment schemes, fake employment offers, romance scams, bogus online sales and impersonation of law enforcement officers and military personnel.
The operation also addressed recovery scams, in which criminals prey on people who have already lost money to fraud by promising to retrieve their funds in return for advance payments.
Chris Sonderby, Meta’s vice-president and deputy general counsel, said cooperation between technology companies and law enforcement agencies was essential to tackling the growing threat posed by organised online fraud.
He said the company remained committed to working with its partners to identify scammers and disrupt their activities wherever they operated.
Nick Sharp, deputy director of fraud at the NCA, said the partnership had strengthened efforts to pursue criminal networks responsible for defrauding thousands of people.
He added that the agency would continue collaborating with international authorities and private-sector organisations to combat fraud that crosses national borders.
The crackdown comes against the backdrop of growing concerns about scam compounds, where criminal networks allegedly recruit and exploit workers to carry out coordinated fraud campaigns against victims worldwide.
Meta said technology companies had a critical role in disrupting these operations but stressed that sustained progress would require criminal organisations to face tangible consequences.
The company described cooperation between the technology industry and law enforcement as an effective model for disrupting fraud networks and said it was committed to maintaining the partnership.
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