Meta announced that it has removed more than 150,000 accounts tied to organized scam centers operating in Southeast Asia, describing the move as part of a large international effort to disrupt coordinated online fraud networks.
The enforcement action was carried out with assistance from authorities in several countries. Law enforcement agencies and government partners involved in the operation included officials from Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. According to Meta, the joint effort resulted in 21 individuals being arrested by the Royal Thai Police.
This latest crackdown builds on an earlier pilot initiative launched in December 2025. During that initial phase, Meta removed approximately 59,000 accounts, Pages, and Groups from its platforms that were connected to similar fraudulent activity. The earlier investigation also led to the issuance of six arrest warrants by authorities.
In a statement explaining the action, Meta said that online scams have grown increasingly complex and organized over recent years. Criminal networks, often operating from countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, have established large scam compounds that function in many ways like organized business operations. These groups typically use structured teams, scripted communication strategies, and digital tools designed to evade detection while targeting victims on a global scale. According to the company, the impact of such scams extends far beyond financial loss, as they can severely disrupt lives and weaken trust in digital communication platforms.
Alongside the enforcement action, Meta also announced several new safety features aimed at helping users identify and avoid scam attempts.
One of these tools introduces new warning messages on Facebook that notify users when they receive communication from accounts that display characteristics commonly linked to fraudulent activity. Another safeguard has been introduced on WhatsApp to address a tactic used by scammers who attempt to persuade users to scan a QR code. If successful, this method can link the attacker’s device to the victim’s WhatsApp account, allowing them to access messages and impersonate the account holder. Meta said its system will now notify users when suspicious device-linking requests are detected.
The company is also expanding scam detection on Messenger. When a conversation with a new contact begins to resemble known fraud patterns, such as questionable job opportunities or requests that appear unusual, the platform may prompt users to share recent messages so that an artificial intelligence system can evaluate whether the interaction matches known scam behavior.
Meta also disclosed broader enforcement statistics related to scams on its platforms. Throughout 2025, the company removed more than 159 million advertisements that violated its policies related to fraud and deception. In addition, it disabled approximately 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts that investigators linked to organized scam centers.
To further address fraudulent activity, the company said it plans to expand its advertiser verification program. The goal of this measure is to increase transparency by confirming the identities of advertisers and reducing the ability of malicious actors to misrepresent themselves while running advertisements.
The announcement comes at a time when governments are intensifying efforts to address online fraud. The UK Government recently introduced a new Online Crime Centre designed to focus specifically on cybercrime, including scams connected to organized fraud operations operating in regions such as Southeast Asia, West Africa, Eastern Europe, India, and China.
The centre will bring together specialists from several sectors, including government agencies, law enforcement, intelligence services, financial institutions, mobile network providers, and major technology companies. The initiative is expected to begin operations next month.
The project forms part of the United Kingdom’s broader Fraud Strategy 2026–2029, a policy framework aimed at strengthening the country’s response to fraud and financial crime. As part of this strategy, authorities plan to use artificial intelligence to detect emerging scam patterns, identify suspicious bank transfers more quickly, and deploy “scam-baiting” chatbots designed to interact with fraudsters in order to gather intelligence.
Officials said the new centre, supported by more than £30 million in funding, will focus on identifying the digital infrastructure used by organized crime groups. This includes tracking fraudulent accounts, websites, and phone numbers used in scam operations. Authorities aim to shut down these resources at scale by blocking scam messages, freezing financial accounts linked to criminal activity, removing fraudulent social media profiles, and disrupting scam networks at their source.
