Ghanaian authorities have arrested 19 people in a cybercrime operation that uncovered US$8.3 million in losses suffered by 89 online scam victims, highlighting the growing financial and security risks posed by transnational fraud networks.
The operation in Sasaabi, a suburb of Accra, also led to the seizure of 303 electronic devices and the identification of 117 suspected human trafficking victims awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
The arrests formed part of an international “Joint Disruption Week” involving law enforcement agencies and technology companies seeking to dismantle criminal networks operating across West Africa.
According to a statement published on the United States Department of Justice website, the coordinated operation resulted in 28 arrests in Ghana and Nigeria, the removal of more than 3.7 million fraudulent social media accounts, pages and groups, and the identification of more than US$11 million in potentially recoverable funds.
The findings underscore the scale of online fraud as a cross-border threat, with criminal networks exploiting digital platforms and cryptocurrency investment schemes to steal funds from individuals and businesses across multiple jurisdictions.
In Ghana, the operation was led by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service and the National Security Service, with support from the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The exercise, hosted by the NCA in London, brought together law enforcement agencies from the United States, United Kingdom, Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand, alongside INTERPOL and private technology companies.
During the week beginning October 6, investigators and industry partners exchanged intelligence in real time to identify and disrupt suspected scam centres in Ghana, Nigeria and other African countries. The networks largely targeted victims in the United States, the United Kingdom and other international markets.
Participating technology companies included Meta, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, OpenAI, Binance, Coinbase, Chainalysis, Elliptic, Flashpoint, Cyjax, Silent Push, Starlink and TRM Labs.
The companies voluntarily removed fraudulent accounts and content from their platforms and shared intelligence with law enforcement agencies, generating leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres.
The latest operation followed raids at six locations in Ghana during the last week of September, when authorities arrested scores of people, identified 34 trafficking victims and seized 129 electronic devices.
In Nigeria, authorities arrested nine people and seized 53 electronic devices during the latest enforcement period.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division said the arrests and removal of fraudulent accounts demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in tackling online fraud.
He said the department’s Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative was designed to strengthen collaboration between law enforcement agencies and private sector partners to identify criminals, disrupt their operations and bring suspects to justice.
Mr Duva commended the NCA for hosting the exercise and praised officers in Ghana and Nigeria for their role in securing evidence and arresting suspects.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation had enabled investigators to disrupt criminal activities, seize hundreds of devices, identify potentially recoverable funds and help people caught in trafficking situations.
Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Fraud at the NCA, said international cooperation was essential because online fraudsters could operate in one country while targeting victims across several others.
He said the agency would continue working with international and private sector partners to pursue fraudsters and disrupt their operations.
The scams targeted by investigators included impersonation of law enforcement officers, digital extortion involving threats of arrest and cryptocurrency investment fraud.
One increasingly recognised scheme, known as “pig butchering”, involves criminals building relationships with victims before persuading them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms or other investment schemes.
Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) showed that it recorded 72,984 reports of investment scams in 2025, with cryptocurrency investment fraud accounting for 72% of the category.
Reported losses from investment scams increased from US$3.96 billion in 2023 to US$5.8 billion in 2024, while losses from cryptocurrency investment scams rose by 24% in 2025 to more than US$7.2 billion.
The figures are based largely on victim reports and are believed to underestimate the actual scale of the problem because many victims do not report fraud.
The US Department of Justice cited a government estimate that funds stolen by scam syndicates worldwide approached US$64 billion annually by the end of 2023.
It said scam centres in West Africa shared characteristics with those uncovered in Southeast Asia, operating as organised enterprises that recruited and trained workers in social engineering before deploying them in coordinated fraud schemes.
The FBI, the Scam Center Strike Force and their international partners said they would continue expanding cooperation between law enforcement and private industry to dismantle criminal networks responsible for online scams.
