In a major international operation, Meta disabled more than 150,000 accounts tied to sophisticated cyber scam centers based in Southeast Asia. This crackdown, known as the “Second Joint Disruption Week,” was a collaborative effort involving law enforcement agencies from over 10 countries. 

Key Highlights of the Crackdown

• Arrests and Coordination: The Royal Thai Police arrested 21 individuals for their involvement in these scam networks. The operation included the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force, and authorities from the U.K., Australia, Singapore, Canada, and several other nations.
• Targeted Scams: The enforcement focused on criminal syndicates operating out of compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. These groups specialized in:
  • “Digital Arrest” Scams: Using video calls to impersonate law enforcement and pressure victims into paying fake fines.
  • Investment Fraud: Luring users into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.
  • Romance Scams: Using deceptive personas to build trust and eventually steal money.
• Scale of Operations: Meta investigators noted that these networks run as “full-scale criminal business operations,” recruiting and training workers to conduct coordinated, multi-platform fraud campaigns. 

New Protective Measures

Alongside the account takedowns, Meta is rolling out several new anti-scam tools to its platforms: 

• Suspicious Linking Alerts: WhatsApp will now alert users if a suspicious device attempts to link to their account via QR code.
• AI Scam Reviews: Messenger is expanding an advanced scam detection feature that prompts users to share recent chat messages for an AI review if the conversation shows common fraud patterns.
• Friend Request Warnings: New warnings will appear on Facebook when users receive friend requests from accounts flagged as suspicious. 

This action builds on a pilot initiative from December 2025, where Meta removed 59,000 accounts. The company reported that in 2025 alone, it removed over 159 million scam ads and 10.9 million accounts linked to criminal centers.