Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that it has frozen more than $3 million worth of crypto assets linked to cyber-enabled fraud rings operating from Southeast Asia. The move took place as part of Disruption Week, which is coordinated by the Scam Center Strike Force within the United States Department of Justice. The operation witnessed close cooperation between public agencies and private sector companies.
Joint operation led by the US
According to the US Department of Justice, the initiative was organized to prevent crypto-related scams targeting American citizens. Alongside Coinbase, Meta, Microsoft, and Starlink also participated. The companies contributed by disabling servers and hosting infrastructure connected with fraud rings, while also disrupting illicit activity conducted through social media and email accounts.
Coinbase has underlined that it is impossible for a single company or agency to defeat scammers acting alone, stating that this operation demonstrated the necessity of collaborative action.
Authorities reported that criminal activities have been disrupted on over 1.4 million social media and email accounts as a result of the operation. The initiative also led to a number of arrests by Thailand’s Royal Police Cyber Fraud Taskforce.
Losses continue to mount
The US Department of Justice emphasized that investment fraud schemes are among the fastest-growing and costliest scams targeting Americans. According to FBI figures released earlier this month, financial damages from crypto and artificial intelligence-related scams surpassed $11 billion for Americans in 2025. Investment-focused fraud accounted for the largest share of these losses.
Quick glossary: The Scam Center Strike Force is a US Department of Justice structure designed to coordinate agencies targeting fraud centers and their financial infrastructure. Because transfers on blockchain are public and immutable, investigators are often able to track illicit funds more easily.
Coinbase noted that while crypto sometimes gets an unfair reputation related to illicit finance, blockchain technology offers law enforcement a transparent, permanent, and immutable record of all transactions.
International cooperation stands out
The operation’s coalition included the FBI, US Secret Service, and law enforcement from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Thailand. Meta highlighted that actionable intelligence gathered by participating parties has helped consolidate previously scattered data across platforms, making it possible to target criminal networks across multiple links in their chains.
Similar crackdowns increase in 2024
Officials have observed a notable uptick in crackdowns on scam infrastructure this year. In April, the US-based Scam Center Strike Force and its partners froze over $701 million in crypto assets tied to investment fraud. The latest operation is regarded as a continuation of such previous initiatives.
In addition, a recent international operation led by Dubai police resulted in 276 arrests and the closure of at least nine crypto scam centers. In a separate case, Austrian and Albanian authorities, with support from Europol and Eurojust, apprehended ten individuals connected to three hubs in Tirana.
