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- DOJ and tech companies froze $3.8 million tied to fraud.
- Operation disabled accounts and dismantled infrastructure supporting scam networks.
- International agencies coordinated arrests targeting Southeast Asia’s criminal syndicates.
In one of the largest coordinated actions against online scam organizations this year, the U.S. Department of Justice and multiple large technology firms seized over $3.8 million in cryptocurrency during a joint investigation of fraud networks based throughout Southeast Asia.
The DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force was among the participants in the operation, dubbed “Disruption Week,” along with private companies such as Apple, Coinbase, Google, Meta, Microsoft, SpaceX, Silent Push, TRM Labs, and Zenlayer. Its objective was to target the financial infrastructure and communications networks of criminal networks that are behind the large-scale fraud schemes, authorities said.
Coinbase was key to the effort, stating that it had frozen over $3 million worth of cryptocurrency associated with the targeted networks. In addition, the company said the overall disruption led to over 1.4 million accounts being disabled, furtheral thereby restricting fraud operators’ potential to contact prospective victims or move money over digital channels.
Meta played a key role in organizing the effort and was instrumental in getting the support of additional technology and cybersecurity companies involved, investigators found multiple scam platforms and directed several suspects to U.S. authorities for further investigation and potential prosecution.
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Coordinated Action Expands Beyond Cryptocurrency Seizures
Authorities stressed that the operation was not merely a digital-assets freeze, but also a strike on the infrastructure of the groups that allowed them to operate in several countries. Thousands of Starlink-based kits belonging to criminal gangs were cut, and investigators seized servers, hosting services, and colocation facilities that allegedly facilitated scams across Southeast Asia. These actions caused disruptions in communication and technical infrastructure which the scammers used to organize their operations and victimize people.
Several arrests also were made during the campaign by law enforcement. Seven suspects of scammers were arrested in Thailand by the Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Center and the global operation led to a total of 63 suspects being arrested for fraud activities across the region. Federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations assisted with the intelligence and investigative elements of the operation and assisted in identifying key targets and coordinating enforcement actions across multiple jurisdictions.
Furthermore, the initiative was embraced by international law enforcement agencies, such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), New Zealand Police, the Royal Thai Police, and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), as organized cybercrime is becoming more global in nature.
The losses reported by cryptocurrency investment fraud rose to over $7.2 billion in 2025, up from $5.8 billion in 2024 and reflecting the trend that has seen the number of investment frauds involving cryptocurrencies rise in recent years, according to data cited by the Department of Justice. Many of these operations are in fact organized in large scam villages in Cambodia, Laos, and Burma close to the Thai border where criminal networks frequently recruit workers to work in the lucrative fields of employment and then induce them to engage in fraud schemes that victimize people around the globe.
Tightening Up on Global Scam Networks
The new wave of action reflects a growing trend in combating the billions of dollars stolen from cryptocurrency scams annually by financial institutions and technology firms collaborating to attack the financial resources and operational systems of global fraud networks.
The move froze cryptocurrency assets and destroyed the infrastructure, disabled millions of accounts and helped to make dozens of arrests, which was a substantial blow to fraud networks that have spread to Southeast Asia and targeted users around the world.
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