Meta and 14 other tech companies have joined law enforcement agencies from ten countries to disrupt scam networks in West Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana. Meta says it removed more than 3.7 million accounts, pages, and groups, and that law enforcement arrested 28 people and rescued 117 trafficking victims.
The operation was hosted by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in London on Oct 6, with the US Department of Justice, the FBI and other US agencies. Meta announced the results on Oct 13, calling it the largest operation of its kind and the first to broadly target scam networks in the region. Nigerian and Ghanaian law enforcement took part, alongside agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India.
What did the operation hit?
Meta says the removed accounts were based in West Africa, and most appeared to target people in the US and UK using profiles that impersonated Americans and Britons. Victims were also reached in Germany, Brazil, Japan, India, South Africa and Nigeria, among other countries.
Investigators say the networks ran investment, romance, job and task scams, along with police and military impersonation, non-delivery fraud and fake “scam recovery” offers.
Coinbase says it identified more than 65 active victims and stopped more than $415,000 in potential losses. Silent Push says it mapped over 35,000 malicious domains and nearly 700 communication channels. Microsoft also suspended accounts it linked to the activity.
Meta revealed that 117 victims were trafficked and forced to work for scam operations and were held in a residential compound in Ghana. Their captors were arrested and face prosecution, the company says.
Read also: Meta rolls out new scam alert features to protect older users on WhatsApp and Messenger
FBI director Kash Patel said the operation identified at least $11 million in “potentially freezable funds” and seized hundreds of devices across multiple African countries. Meta’s release does not say how many of the accounts or arrests were in Nigeria. It also does not name the Nigerian agency involved.
Meta’s record in acting against networks based in Nigeria
Meta has acted against Nigeria-based networks before. In July 2024, it removed about 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria linked to financial sextortion, including a network of around 2,500 accounts tied to roughly 20 individuals.
In February, Meta, the NCA and the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre disrupted a suspected scam centre in Agbor, Delta State. Police arrested seven suspects and seized 26 phones, 42 SIM cards and one laptop.
Those actions were Nigeria-only. This one spans the region and brings in far more companies.
Meta ran a similar operation in Southeast Asia in June. It disabled 1.4 million accounts, and the Royal Thai Police arrested 63 people. West Africa’s figure is more than 2.5 times higher on accounts and lower on arrests. Meta says scam centres in West Africa are generally more decentralised and less industrial than those in Southeast Asia.
Nick Sharp, the NCA’s deputy director of fraud, said, “Fraudsters can operate from anywhere.” Coinbase’s Leah Bressack said criminal networks are trying to re-establish themselves in Africa after the Southeast Asian disruptions.
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