Today, Meta and the UK National Crime Agency are sharing more details of a suspected scam centre in Nigeria that targeted British residents and American people based in the UK that was disrupted following signals and insight provided by Meta.
According to preliminary findings from the Nigerian Police Force, the syndicate operated a sophisticated online fraud network based in Agbor, Delta State. The group used fake social media accounts impersonating cryptocurrency traders, along with fraudulent Facebook groups featuring fabricated testimonials, to target individuals engaging with legitimate investment platforms. Meta is working closely with law enforcement to identify and remove all accounts found to be in violation as part of the operations.
During the takedown, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center arrested seven suspects and also reported recovering twenty-six (26) mobile phones, forty-two (42) SIM cards, and one (1) laptop, all suspected to have been used in the commission of the crime.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Global Head of Counter Fraud for Meta said; “We welcome the partnership with the UK National Crime Agency and the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre to identify and disrupt this alleged scam centre, based on insight and signals shared by Meta. Scams are driven by persistent criminals and sophisticated, organised crime syndicates constantly evolving their operations to evade detection. We are focused on rooting them out, working with law enforcement, governments, and peers to protect people from these schemes. This takedown demonstrates the real impact that this cooperation can have and the importance of a ‘whole-of-society’ approach.”
Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Fraud at the National Crime Agency, said: “These arrests were made possible thanks to our close partnership working with Meta and our law enforcement partners in Nigeria. This action marks a significant step in our collective fight against fraudsters operating overseas, and will help in our mission to protect the public in the UK from serious and organised criminals. Fraudsters can operate from anywhere and will target victims both domestically and globally. The NCA will continue to work with international and private sector partners to tackle fraudsters working upstream, overseas and online.”
Meta is committed to combatting scams on its platforms, and taking actions against the criminals behind them. Over the past three years, Meta has stood up teams and systems to help identify and go after these scam hotspots globally under its policies. Meta’s investigative teams continuously monitor for new scam compounds globally and routinely disrupt their operations. In the first half of 2025, Meta took down 12 million accounts – across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp associated with criminal scam centers.
The year before, Meta disrupted scam centres in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines. As part of its threat disruption efforts, Meta also works with law enforcement agencies around the globe to share insights into how this criminal industry operates and help law enforcement protect communities from these scams:
- In December 2025, Meta supported the Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force and the FBI in disrupting a criminal operation that’s part of the Tai Chang compound in Myanmar. As a result of information shared with Meta, Meta took down 2,000 Facebook accounts targeting people in the US and abroad.
- In November 2025, Meta coordinated with the FBI and supported Singaporean law enforcement in disrupting an illegal online gambling network that tricked targets into transferring money to anonymous bank accounts.
As well as disrupting scam centers, Meta has also been rolling out new product features to help protect people on our apps from known scam tactics at scale.
- Meta now shows you a warning in Messenger and Instagram DMs reminding you to be aware of potentially suspicious interactions or cold outreach from people you don’t know, so you can slow down and review before accepting a message request.
- On WhatsApp, if you’re added to a group chat by someone you don’t know, you’ll now see a context card giving you more information about the group. It’ll show who added you, how recently the group was created and who created it so you have context on this outreach.
