Meta, Starlink and Microsoft are teaming up with the FBI to take down more than 1.4 million accounts and seize millions of cryptocurrencies linked to massive fraud networks targeting Americans.

63 suspects arrested in multinational scam
Millions of cryptocurrency assets seized
Tech companies have disabled millions of fraudulent accounts

Dozens of people have been arrested and millions of dollars in cryptocurrency seized, as part of a large-scale multinational operation against internet scammers and fraudsters.

On May 18, the US Department of Justice, FBI, Secret Service, law enforcement agencies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Thailand, as well as several trading companies such as Meta, Coinbase and Starlink, participated in the takedown of a fraudulent network in Southeast Asia.

In a press release issued earlier this week, Meta revealed details of the operation, saying 63 suspects were arrested, while Coinbase froze more than $3 million in cryptocurrency assets. At the same time, Meta disabled more than 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram, while Microsoft suspended around 20,000 fraudulent accounts linked to the fraud network.

Identify more scams

Meta said intelligence shared between these companies and agencies led to the identification of “many new potentially new scam center locations and networks,” which were referred to law enforcement. Starlink participated by terminating connectivity to thousands of kits attributed to illegal use.

The announcement did not specify what the nature of the scam was, or whether the group had a name or hierarchy. Scams involving cryptocurrency are typically romance or investment scams (or a combination). Users are lured into “investing” in fraudulent platforms, under the promise of huge financial gains. Romance scams work in the same way, tricking victims into believing they are “investing” with a near future.

Sometimes, scammers engage in so-called “pig butchery” scams, gradually cultivating relationships with victims before persuading them to transfer funds to fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms. Even when victims realize they can’t withdraw, the scammers stay in character, posing as customer service and promising the victim release of funds if they pay “taxes” or “withdrawal fees.”