National fraud enforcement official discusses task force crackdown
Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement Colin McDonald underscores the unprecedented scope of the federal government’s anti-fraud initiative. He reveals the task force has undertaken over 450 major law enforcement actions within 52 days, including search warrants, arrests and convictions. McDonald emphasizes the crucial role of state cooperation and public whistleblowers in bringing justice to those who prey on the elderly and vulnerable, ensuring maximum prosecution efforts.
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A sweeping anti-scam operation led by Meta and backed by the FBI, Department of Justice, Microsoft, Coinbase and Starlink resulted in 63 arrests, millions of dollars in frozen cryptocurrency and the removal of more than a million scam-related online accounts, officials announced Tuesday.
Meta said the operation was the company’s largest anti-scam operation to date and described it as the first coordinated anti-scam effort of its kind for the company to bring together major technology companies, financial platforms and law enforcement agencies to target the broader fraud ecosystem.
The two-week operation began May 18 and brought together the DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force — led by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro — along with the FBI, the Royal Thai Police, Microsoft, Coinbase, Starlink and other international law enforcement partners.
The effort spanned Washington, D.C., and Thailand and also included the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement agencies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Thailand.
GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 276 ARRESTS
Thai authorities arrested 63 people allegedly connected to scam centers during a multinational crackdown targeting fraud networks that prey on Americans. (Meta)
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.”
GLOBAL TASK FORCE DISMANTLES ‘PIG-BUTCHERING’ CRYPTO FRAUD RINGS PREYING ON AMERICANS
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.
THEY WERE FORCED TO SCAM OTHERS WORLDWIDE; NOW THOUSANDS ARE DETAINED ON THE BURMESE BORDER
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.
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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.