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The FBI’s expanded global efforts to disrupt and dismantle sprawling scam compounds that prey on Americans netted multiple arrests in Africa last week, as well as millions of dollars in potentially freezable funds and the takedown of social media accounts tied to fraud, officials said.
Operation Blackout is the FBI’s global campaign to identify and dismantle foreign scam compounds through overseas raids, asset seizures and the disruption of web domains and infrastructure linked to scam networks.
Authorities also worked to rescue trafficked workers and return stolen money to victims.
“Thanks to a brilliant partnership with the Department of Justice, across multiple African countries, we arrested 28 alleged criminal actors, seized over 350 devices, identified at least $11 million in potentially freezable funds, freed over 100 trafficked workers, and identified over 100 potential scam victims here at home,” FBI Director Kash Patel exclusively told Digital.
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The operation also identified more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds, helped take down 3.7 million social media accounts and identified more than 120 trafficked workers for repatriation. (Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“This is what happens when law enforcement executes with precision across the inter-agency,” Patel added. “We are demolishing criminal scam centers across the globe and truly saving lives.”
In a series of initiatives stemming from the larger FBI operation, authorities conducted law enforcement raids and seizures last week as part of a “Joint Disruption Week” based out of London that resulted in 28 arrests across Ghana and Nigeria.
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In addition to the arrests, authorities identified more than 100 scam victims with losses so far exceeding $10 million.
The more than 120 trafficked workers identified are slated to be repatriated, the FBI said.
Additionally, more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts allegedly linked to fraudulent activity were taken down in partnership with Meta.
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“Scams are a global threat that demand a global response,” Chris Sonderby, VP and Deputy General Counsel for Meta, said in a news release from the tech giant regarding last week’s operations. “Working with the UK National Crime Agency, the FBI, DOJ, and the Homeland Security Task Force, we took the fight to scam centers across West Africa.
“As part of the disruption, we removed more than 3.7 million accounts, Pages and Groups targeting people in the US, UK, and beyond, and shared leads on over 30 suspected scam centers resulting in dozens of arrests, the rescue of trafficking victims, and cryptocurrency seizures,” Sonderby added.
The FBI’s Operation Blackout led to 28 arrests across Ghana and Nigeria as authorities targeted scam compounds preying on Americans. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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In Ghana, 117 victims are pending repatriation to Nigeria, and 19 suspects were arrested and detained. In Nigeria, local authorities will prosecute nine individuals arrested for violations of Nigerian law, the FBI said.
The Ghana and Nigeria operations follow a warning from Patel that international scam networks were expanding beyond Southeast Asia and the Middle East into Africa.
“That’s why you’re seeing the migration of these scam compounds to central and sub-Saharan Africa, which is where we are already pre-positioned to take them off,” Patel told Digital in September.
The FBI-led initiative targets transnational cybercrime groups operating massive scam centers where trafficked workers are forced to carry out fraud schemes from thousands of miles away against unsuspecting Americans.
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In total, Operation Blackout has resulted in roughly $17 billion being seized, hundreds of alleged scammers arrested, and thousands of trafficked workers freed.
Furthermore, more than 10,000 Americans were warned about being targeted for potential fraud before losing their money, preventing an estimated $670 million in financial losses, according to the FBI.
Many of the victims are senior citizens, Patel previously told Digital. Criminal networks have begun a geographic shift in an effort to broaden their scams, Patel has said.
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In September, a Justice Department Scam Center Strike Force team helped authorities in Madagascar take down 13 scam centers operated by Chinese organized crime syndicates and process more than 3,200 electronic devices, Digital previously reported.
Criminal networks have now begun using artificial intelligence to further their scams, experts said.
The technology gives scammers the ability to use voice cloning and send flawless emails and messages to potential victims, eliminating the language barriers that once made scams easy to spot.
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“AI gives scam fighters powerful new tools,” said Jack Stubbs, the lead scams investigator at OpenAI. “At OpenAI, we’re using AI to disrupt scam operations and help people spot scams. By sharing insights responsibly with industry and law enforcement partners, we can identify scam networks across platforms and build stronger collective defenses.”
Digital’s Brittany Miller and Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.
