US and UK officials report major takedown of West African scam networks

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that a joint international operation netted 28 arrests and rescued 117 trafficking victims. Authorities said the crackdown removed more than 3.7 million accounts used for fraud operations around the world. Participants called this the largest joint scam operation to date focused on West Africa.

Agencies from the US and United Kingdom hosted the event in London, joined by INTERPOL and other nations. Participating law enforcement included the FBI, the Department of Justice, and Nigeria Police Force’s National Cybercrime Center. Tech companies like Meta, Microsoft and Google also took part in the effort to disrupt scam centers.

In Ghana, authorities raided a compound in Sasaabi outside Accra where police arrested 19 people and seized 303 devices. Nigerian officials made nine further arrests as part of the coordinated action on the ground. These raids followed a series of operations that began in September before last week’s designated action period.

The disrupted schemes included law enforcement impersonation scams and digital arrest extortion schemes targeting global victims. Officials also identified cryptocurrency investment fraud, which is known as pig butchering. These methods allowed criminal groups to steal savings online while restricting the freedom of trafficking victims.

Officials identified more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds during the investigation. However, it remains unclear how much of that money will actually be seized as a result of the operation. FBI officials described identifying assets as the easy part compared to legally seizing them through investigations.

Meta reported removing more than 3.7 million accounts from Facebook and Instagram based in West Africa. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro praised the company for voluntarily disrupting scam infrastructure on its platforms. This cooperation comes as Meta faces scrutiny over whether it profits from advertising linked to scams.

A Reuters investigation cited internal documents stating Meta projected a portion of revenue would come from ads related to banned goods. Meta disputes that figure and says they aim for verified advertisers to account for most ad revenue by the end of 2026. Lawmakers have also proposed bills requiring social media companies to take reasonable steps to verify advertisers.