Meta Disables 150K Accounts Linked to Southeast Asia Scam Centers in Global Crackdown

Meta Disables 150K Accounts Linked to Southeast Asia Scam Centers in Global Crackdown 🚨

Meta announced on Wednesday that it has disabled over 150,000 accounts associated with scam centers in Southeast Asia. This action is part of a coordinated effort in partnership with authorities from various countries including Thailand, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia.

The crackdown also resulted in 21 arrests made by the Royal Thai Police. Meta stated, “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, upending lives and destroying trust, and are deliberately designed to avoid detection and disruption.

In addition to this crackdown, Meta is introducing new tools to protect users when scam-related red flags are detected. These tools include:

• New warnings on Facebook for suspicious accounts
• Alerts on WhatsApp for suspicious device linking requests
• Expanded advanced scam detection on Messenger, prompting users to share recent chat messages for AI scam review when conversations exhibit common scam patterns.

In 2025, Meta removed over 159 million scam ads for violating its policies and took down 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram linked to criminal scam centers.

This development coincides with the U.K. government’s launch of a new Online Crime Centre aimed at combating cybercrime, including scams fueled by operations across Southeast Asia, West Africa, Eastern Europe, India, and China. The centre will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) to flag emerging fraud patterns, stop suspicious bank transfers faster, and utilize “scam-baiting chatbots” to deceive fraudsters and gather intelligence. Backed by over £30 million in funding, the centre aims to identify and shut down accounts, websites, and phone numbers relied upon by organized crime groups.

To read the complete article see: Read full article