Coinbase announced it has frozen over $3 million in crypto assets linked to Southeast Asian fraud networks. The operation, coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice's anti-fraud task force, also involved Meta, Microsoft, Starlink, and Thai police, and focused on romance and investment scam networks.
Multiple parties simultaneously clean up fraud infrastructure
Meta reports that it has suspended over 1.4 million accounts, pages, and groups on Facebook and Instagram. Microsoft has suspended approximately 20,000 fraudulent accounts linked to scam networks. Starlink has terminated the connections of thousands of connected devices used for illicit activities.
Meta also stated that Thai police have arrested 63 people in connection with the scam. The operation targeted not only the flow of funds but also social media accounts, escrow tools, and internet access devices, aiming to cripple the scam groups' ability to attract traffic and operate.
On-chain records are used to track funds
In its statement, Coinbase emphasized that making blockchain records public can help law enforcement track the flow of stolen funds. Even after victims have transferred crypto assets to fraudulent addresses, investigators can still use on-chain transaction records to trace related wallets and transfer paths.
The company stated that blockchain transaction records are characterized by being public, immutable, and long-term, making it easier to establish continuous fund tracking clues in some cases compared to the traditional financial system.
The United States continues to expand its anti-fraud efforts.
Prior to this operation, the U.S. had frozen approximately $701 million in crypto assets in April and dealt with more than 500 fraudulent investment websites. Law enforcement stated that these websites typically lured victims to deposit more funds by fabricating earnings data and account dashboards.
This year, law enforcement agencies in multiple countries have been continuously cracking down on fraudulent industrial parks and cross-border fraud networks, with participants including the United States, Thailand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Austria, and Albania. This asset freeze also demonstrates that exchanges are increasingly directly involved in intercepting fraudulent funds and protecting users.
