From News Desk

Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase, Starlink and other tech companies teamed up with the US Department of Justice, the Royal Thai Police; and global law enforcement agencies to share information and disrupt criminal scam networks in joint operations across Washington, DC and Bangkok.

More than a million online assets were disrupted as a result of the operation — including 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups across Facebook and Instagram, 20,000 Microsoft accounts and thousands of Starlink kits. The Royal Thai Police has arrested 63 individuals involved in scam operations.

Results of the operation –

Connectivity Disabled: Starlink continued to build on its consumer integrity efforts, which have terminated connectivity for thousands of Starlink kits that were attributed to unlawful use.

Digital Disruptions: Meta disabled more than 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram. Microsoft suspended approximately 20,000 fraudulent accounts linked to scam networks as part of this coordinated effort.

Real-World Action: Law enforcement has arrested 63 potential criminals connected to scam centres thus far.

Financial Seizures: Coinbase froze more than USD 3 million in cryptocurrency assets tied to criminal networks.

Intelligence Gains: The intelligence-sharing led to the identification of many potentially new scam center locations and networks, which were referred to law enforcement.

“Protecting people around the world from scams is one our highest priorities. The joint operation announced today, which included the removal of over a million accounts, the freezing of assets; and more than 60 arrests, demonstrates the power of partnerships to combat scammers. 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,” said Chris Sonderby, VP and Deputy General Counsel, Meta.

“Operations like this show what’s possible when technology companies and law enforcement work side by side. Scam networks operate across platforms and borders, and Microsoft remains committed to working with partners to combine visibility into scam infrastructure with real-world action, disrupting criminal networks at scale and holding those behind them accountable,” said Steven Masada, Global Head of Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.