Coinbase has frozen more than $3 million in cryptocurrency connected to sophisticated fraud networks operating across Southeast Asia, as part of a coordinated international effort aimed at disrupting some of the world’s largest crypto scam operations.

The action formed part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force “Disruption Week,” a large-scale initiative that united law enforcement agencies, technology companies, financial institutions, and blockchain firms to combat the growing threat of crypto-enabled fraud targeting victims worldwide.

Global Coalition Targets Fraud Infrastructure

The operation brought together an unusually broad coalition of public and private organizations, including:

• Coinbase
• Meta
• Microsoft
• Starlink
• FBI
• U.S. Secret Service
• Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Center
• Law enforcement agencies from the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Thailand

Rather than focusing solely on individual scammers, authorities targeted the underlying infrastructure that enables large-scale fraud operations.

This included cryptocurrency wallets, communication channels, social media accounts, email networks, hosting providers, and physical scam centers used to orchestrate fraudulent activities.

According to Coinbase, the coordinated approach allowed participants to disrupt scam networks at multiple points simultaneously, making it significantly harder for criminal organizations to relocate or quickly rebuild operations.

More Than 1.4 Million Fraud-Linked Accounts Disrupted

One of the most significant outcomes of the operation was the disruption of over 1.4 million social media and email accounts linked to fraudulent activity.

Meta, Microsoft, and Starlink worked alongside investigators to identify and disable digital infrastructure used by scammers to contact victims, conduct social engineering campaigns, and move stolen funds.

Authorities also dismantled servers and hosting systems connected to several fraud operations, while the Royal Thai Police carried out arrests linked to cybercrime networks operating within the region.

Meta stated that intelligence-sharing between participating organizations helped investigators connect previously isolated pieces of information across different platforms, enabling a broader view of how the criminal ecosystems functioned.

Investment Scams Remain the Biggest Threat

The crackdown comes as investment fraud and so-called “pig butchering” scams continue to surge globally.

Pig butchering schemes typically involve criminals spending weeks or months building trust with victims through social media, messaging applications, dating platforms, or professional networking sites before convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency opportunities.

Victims are often shown fabricated profits and encouraged to invest increasingly larger sums before the fraudsters disappear with the funds.

According to the FBI, Americans lost more than $11 billion to crypto- and AI-related scams in 2025, with investment fraud accounting for the largest share of financial losses.

These scams have become one of the fastest-growing forms of cybercrime due to their ability to target victims across borders while leveraging digital payment systems.

Coinbase Highlights Blockchain Transparency

Amid ongoing concerns about crypto’s role in financial crime, Coinbase emphasized that blockchain technology often provides investigators with advantages that traditional financial systems cannot.

Unlike conventional banking networks, blockchain transactions create permanent and transparent records that allow law enforcement agencies to trace the movement of funds across wallets and exchanges.

“Blockchain technology gives investigators a transparent, immutable record of transactions,” Coinbase noted, arguing that crypto is increasingly becoming a tool for tracking criminal activity rather than hiding it.

The exchange added that successful enforcement actions increasingly depend on collaboration between technology companies, financial institutions, crypto platforms, and law enforcement agencies.

Crackdown Reflects Growing Global Enforcement Efforts

The latest operation is part of a broader international campaign against crypto-enabled fraud that has intensified throughout 2026.

Earlier this year:

• The U.S. Scam Center Strike Force helped freeze more than $701 million in cryptocurrency linked to investment fraud schemes.
• A Dubai-led international operation resulted in the arrest of 276 suspects and the closure of at least nine scam centers.
• Austrian and Albanian authorities, working alongside Europol and Eurojust, dismantled multiple fraudulent call centers and arrested several individuals connected to international crypto scams.

These actions signal a growing shift in law enforcement strategy—from targeting individual scammers to dismantling the infrastructure, networks, and financial channels that support large-scale fraud operations.

A New Phase in the Fight Against Crypto Crime

As scam networks become increasingly sophisticated and globalized, authorities are adopting more coordinated and intelligence-driven approaches to combat cyber-enabled financial crime.

The Coinbase-led asset freeze demonstrates how exchanges, technology companies, and governments are working together to identify illicit financial flows, disrupt criminal operations, and protect consumers from increasingly complex crypto-related scams.

With billions of dollars still lost annually to fraud, industry leaders and regulators expect international cooperation to become one of the most important weapons in the ongoing battle against digital financial crime.