kanuck57 (@kanuck57)

Operation Blackout Takes Down 4 Of The 'Largest Scam Compounds On Earth': FBI Naveen Athrappully - Aug 02 2026 https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/operation-blackout-takes-down-4-of-the-largest-scam-compounds-on-earth-fbi-6070153 The FBI announced on July 31 that it dismantled four of the “largest scam compounds on Earth” under Operation Blackout , seizing $15.2 billion in assets and freeing thousands of forced laborers. Scam compounds provide the infrastructure to carry out large-scale online fraud operations and typically employ hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are captives. Operation Blackout freed thousands of trafficked workers, the FBI stated in a post on X. Roughly 10,000 Americans were reportedly saved from losing their life savings. The agency did not specify a timeline for the event. The FBI also built new international partnerships to fight off fraud and trafficking activities, the agency stated. In a July 21 post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the seizure of $15.2 billion under Operation Blackout was made over a 16-month period. Dozens of scam centers were dismantled and hundreds of criminals arrested, with multiple human trafficking compounds eliminated. Patel listed four operations carried out as part of dismantling scam operations. Operation Zephyr Exodus involved the takedown of Cambodia’s Prince Group, a transnational criminal organization. This led to the seizure of a record 127,000 Bitcoin, worth roughly $15 billion at the time. Operation Sand Dollar , conducted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, dismantled nine scam compounds, arrested more than 300 individuals, seized about $300 million, confiscated thousands of electronic devices, and freed thousands of trafficked workers. It was conducted through a joint operation with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and the Dubai Police, Patel said. In **Operation Compound Fracture** , authorities seized domains and malicious apps linked to scam activities. And under the Shunda Compound Takedown, the FBI and Thai law enforcement carried out a joint operation that disrupted a network responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to victims. Last month, the Treasury Department sanctioned 35 individuals and entities linked to the Prince Group, including a Cambodia-based conglomerate that allegedly provided laundering services for scam proceeds. U.S. authorities estimate Americans to have lost at least $10 billion to scam operations running from Southeast Asia in 2024, a 66 percent jump from the previous year, the department stated. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2025, the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than a million complaints last year. Total losses from these complaints amounted to more than $20.87 billion, a 26 percent increase from the previous year. Scam Compound Trafficking In a July 28 statement, the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlighted the issue of trafficking victims being forced to work in scam centers................................ https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/operation-blackout-takes-down-4-of-the-largest-scam-compounds-on-earth-fbi-6070153 #FBI #Patel #OperationBlackout #scam #trafficking