West Africa Scam Crackdown Nets 28 Arrests and Identifies $11 Million in Funds

An international crackdown on online fraud networks operating in West Africa has resulted in 28 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the removal of more than 3.7 million social media accounts, pages and groups linked to suspected scams, according to the US Department of Justice.

The coordinated operation, led by international law enforcement agencies and technology companies during the week beginning October 6, targeted scam centres in Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries. Investigators also identified at least 11 million US dollars in funds that could potentially be frozen and uncovered cases involving human trafficking.

In Ghana, authorities arrested 19 people in Sasaabi, a suburb of Accra, and seized 303 electronic devices. They identified 117 suspected trafficking victims awaiting repatriation to Nigeria, as well as 89 fraud victims who reportedly lost a combined 8.3 million US dollars.

In Nigeria, authorities arrested nine people and seized 53 electronic devices during the enforcement period.

The operation targeted several types of fraud, including schemes in which criminals impersonate law enforcement officers, threaten victims with fabricated digital arrests and solicit money through fraudulent cryptocurrency investment opportunities, often known as “pig butchering” scams.

Technology companies, including Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and cryptocurrency platforms, worked with investigators by sharing intelligence and taking action against suspected fraud infrastructure on their networks. The companies reported removing more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups targeting people in the US, UK and other countries, and provided leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres.

“Transnational fraud demands a transnational response,” said Jeanine Ferris Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia and founder of the Scam Center Strike Force.

The UK’s National Crime Agency hosted the operation in London, bringing together agencies from the US, UK, Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand, alongside Interpol and private-sector partners. It was the first coordinated international disruption effort focused specifically on West Africa, according to the Justice Department.

The crackdown comes as cryptocurrency-related investment fraud continues to generate substantial reported losses. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded more than 7.2 billion US dollars in losses from investment scams involving cryptocurrency in 2025, a 24 percent increase from the previous year, according to the department.

US officials said the operation also demonstrated the links between online fraud and human trafficking, with some scam centres operating as organised enterprises in which workers are recruited, trained to deceive victims and deployed in coordinated fraud campaigns.

Authorities said the arrests, seizures and disruption of online infrastructure were part of a broader effort to pursue the people and organisations behind transnational fraud networks.

Source: FSX Business News