Online scams have become significantly more sophisticated and industrialized in recent years, with criminal networks often based in Southeast Asia in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos running what amount to full-scale business operations. These operations cause real harm — they upend lives, destroy trust, and are deliberately designed to avoid detection and disruption. The work to protect people against scammers is never done, and requires ongoing collaboration with partners across the tech industry and law enforcement to ensure a safer experience for everyone online.
This collaboration is the driving force behind the second Joint Disruption Week in Bangkok, which was led last week by the Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Center (ACSC), the FBI, the DOJ Scam Center Strike Force, and other law enforcement agencies that joined Meta from around the globe. As a result of this operation and information shared by law enforcement partners, Meta investigators disabled over 150,000 accounts associated with scam centers. The effort also led to 21 arrests made by the Royal Thai Police.
This operation builds on the success of a Joint Disruption Week pilot program in December, during which the ACSC, in close collaboration with Meta, DOJ Scam Center Strike Force, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, US Secret Service, and other law enforcement agencies engaged in intensive live information sharing. This resulted in the removal of 59,000 accounts, Pages, and Groups from Meta’s platforms and six arrest warrants, demonstrating a powerful and replicable model for partnering with law enforcement to enforce against organized online crime.
For the second Joint Disruption, Meta, the ACSC and US law enforcement welcomed a broader coalition of partners from countries including the UK (National Crime Agency), Canada, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. Representatives from the messaging app LINE also joined to participate in discussions. The goal was to once again share information but also to deepen partnerships, improve collective systems, and strengthen action against the criminal syndicates behind these scams. Throughout the week, partners shared insights that allowed them to connect the dots between disparate pieces of information.
“We are proud to partner with the Royal Thai Police, the FBI, the DOJ Scam Center Strike Force, and law enforcement agencies from around the world to combat these sophisticated scam networks. This operation is a testament to how sharing information and coordinating our efforts can make real progress in disrupting this criminal activity at its source. Our work to combat scams is never done, and we will continue to invest in technology and partnerships to stay ahead of these adversaries.”
– Chris Sonderby, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Meta
“Online scams are not a faceless crime. They target our families, our friends, and our neighbors. Criminal scam syndicates are operating across borders and causing real harm to our communities and our economy. Tackling this issue calls for a joint effort between the public and private sectors. This joint operation is a testament to the power of partnership. This operation also sends a clear message to criminals that the Royal Thai Police and our partners will continue to suppress and eradicate all forms of online crime to the fullest extent, to make Thai society and our region a safe place for all citizens.”
– Police Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej, Assistant Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and Deputy Director of the Police Cyber Task Force (PCT)
“Fraudsters work at scale to target victims in the UK from wherever they are in the world, and we know South East Asia is a particular hotspot for these criminals. Working side by side with our industry partners at Meta, and with other organisations across law enforcement internationally, we are continuing to grow this work and targeting criminal activity wherever it occurs to protect the public against serious and organized crime.”
– Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Fraud at the National Crime Agency (NCA)
“Transnational scam syndicates continue to exploit digital platforms and operate across multiple jurisdictions. Joint operations like this demonstrate the importance of close cooperation between law enforcement agencies and industry partners. By proactively sharing information, we can more effectively disrupt the criminal networks behind these scams. The SPF will continue to work with our international partners to take firm action against scammers and protect members of the public.”
– Deputy Assistant Commissioner Gregory Kang of the Singapore Police Force and Assistant Director of the Cybercrime Division, Criminal Investigation Department
“The Australian Federal Police is proud to support and participate in the joint disruption week with Royal Thai Police, tech industry partners and international law enforcement. Scam centres and criminal syndicates prey on victims around the world. We work tirelessly with our international partners to disrupt these groups. Success from the joint disruption week is only achieved through strong partnerships with agencies around the world with a common goal, which is to prevent scammers taking advantage of innocent people.”
– Kristie Cressy, Detective Superintendent, Senior Officer, Bangkok at Australia Federal Police
“The Indonesian National Police sincerely appreciates the opportunity to participate in this joint initiative and to strengthen cooperation with our international partners. This collaboration has provided valuable insights and has further enhanced our collective capacity to address online scams and other forms of transnational cybercrime. Through sustained collaboration, we hope to contribute to building a safer, more secure, and resilient digital ecosystem for our citizens and for the global community.”
– Brigadier General of Police Roberto G.M. Pasaribu, S.I.K., M.Si, Director of Cyber Crime at Metro Jaya Regional Police
These operations are just one of many ways Meta targets scammers on our platforms, and today we also announced new tools to help protect people. These include:
Facebook alerts for suspicious friend requests: We are testing new warnings on Facebook to help people navigate suspicious accounts. When users send or receive a request from an account that shows certain signs of suspicious activity – including not having many mutual friends or if they indicate a different country location in their profile – they will see an alert to help them make an informed decision whether to block or reject potentially suspicious requests;
WhatsApp device linking warning: Scammers may try to trick people into linking their WhatsApp accounts to a scammer’s device. Sometimes scammers ask users to enter their phone number, followed by a device linking code on WhatsApp. They may also try to trick people into scanning a QR code under false pretenses, which would then link the scammer’s device to their account. To stay ahead of these tactics, WhatsApp will now alert users when behavioral signals suggest a linking request might be suspicious. These alerts will show where the request is coming from and warn that it could be a scam, giving users the chance to pause and reconsider. Visit the WhatsApp Help Center for more ways to stay safe when linking your device on WhatsApp; and
Advanced scam detection on Messenger: We are rolling out advanced scam detection on Messenger to more countries this month. When a chat with a new contact may contain patterns of common scams like suspicious job offers, we warn users and ask if they’d like to share recent chat messages for an AI scam review. If a potential scam is detected, users will get more information on common scams, and we’ll suggest actions to take including blocking or reporting the suspicious account. Learn more here.
Meta is committed to continuing our work with law enforcement and industry partners to disrupt these operations and protect people on our platforms.
