Meta, Microsoft and DOJ-led strike force dismantles Southeast Asian scam-center infrastructure; 63 arrested
Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase, SpaceX and other technology companies announced a joint disruption of criminal scam networks in Southeast Asia alongside the U.S.
At a glance
- Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase, SpaceX and others joined DOJ, FBI and Royal Thai Police in coordinated operations across Washington DC and Bangkok
- 1.4 million Facebook/Instagram accounts, pages and groups, 20,000 Microsoft accounts and thousands of Starlink kits were disrupted
- Royal Thai Police arrested 63 individuals involved in scam operations
- More than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency used to launder funds stolen from Americans was frozen, per DOJ
- The Scam Center Strike Force held its first in-person meetings in Washington May 18-21 before the operation
VERDICT — CONFIRMED
Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase, SpaceX and other technology companies announced a joint disruption of criminal scam networks in Southeast Asia alongside the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the Royal Thai Police, in coordinated operations spanning Washington, D.C. and Bangkok.
The action, unveiled overnight into June 4, followed the first in-person meetings of the "Scam Center Strike Force" in Washington from May 18 to May 21. More than a million online assets were disrupted — including 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups across Facebook and Instagram, 20,000 Microsoft accounts, and thousands of Starlink kits used by scam compounds — and the Royal Thai Police arrested 63 individuals involved in scam operations.
According to the DOJ, information shared between U.S. government agencies and private-sector partners — which also included Silent Push, TRM Labs and Zenlayer — led to the freezing of more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency used to launder funds stolen from Americans. The targeted syndicates ran romance scams, investment fraud and operations tied to scam compounds staffed through forced labor.
Why it matters
the strike-force model — platforms, cloud providers, satellite internet and crypto exchanges acting in concert with law enforcement — is the most comprehensive infrastructure-level assault yet on the pig-butchering economy, hitting connectivity, accounts and money flows simultaneously.
Key facts on file
- Meta, Microsoft, Coinbase, SpaceX and others joined DOJ, FBI and Royal Thai Police in coordinated operations across Washington DC and Bangkok
- 1.4 million Facebook/Instagram accounts, pages and groups, 20,000 Microsoft accounts and thousands of Starlink kits were disrupted
- Royal Thai Police arrested 63 individuals involved in scam operations
- More than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency used to launder funds stolen from Americans was frozen, per DOJ
- The Scam Center Strike Force held its first in-person meetings in Washington May 18-21 before the operation
