Meta has faced strong criticism for allegedly allowing scammers to do their thing on its platforms. There were even reports that the company was earning billions yearly from scam-related ads. Well, in the latest development, the tech giant has teamed up with the DOJ (Department of Justice), along with Microsoft, Coinbase, Starlink, and International law enforcement agencies, to crack down on online scams. Meta even took down over a million scam accounts in this joint operation.
Meta took down over 1.4 million scam accounts in a joint operation
This joint operation focuses on criminal networks in Southeast Asia that target Americans through romance fraud, “pig butchering” schemes, and law enforcement impersonation scams. They also offer fake job offers to fellow Southeast Asians and force them to work in scam compounds.
During the week starting May 18th, Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase, Starlink, the Justice Department, the Royal Thai Police, and other law enforcement partners from the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand met in Washington, DC, to share information. This reportedly helped them “connect the dots between disparate pieces of information across platforms.”
They were able to identify potential scam center locations
This joint operation apparently led Meta to identify and disable more than 1.4 million accounts, pages, and groups from Facebook and Instagram. Meanwhile, Microsoft suspended 20,000 accounts used by scammers. Coinbase froze over $3 million worth of cryptocurrency tied to criminal networks. Starlink identified and disconnected thousands of scam-linked kits.
Additionally, they were also able to identify potential scam center locations with this exchange of information. Law enforcement agencies have reportedly nabbed 63 suspects so far. While further course of action is not revealed, Meta says that participating companies are committed to continuing this collaboration to “protect people online.”
Meta has been stepping up its fight
On its part, Meta has been fighting scammers for years. It once took down over 2 million accounts tied to “pig butchering” scams. In these scams, bad actors fool victims into making crypto investments and then vanish with their money. It’s been stepping up its fight against deceptive schemes and fraudulent activities. In 2025, it removed 159 million scam ads and 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts tied to criminal scam centers.
In March this year, it launched AI tools to spot brand and celebrity impersonators and added alerts to warn users if they’re potentially talking with fraudulent accounts.
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