Ghana scam compound raid arrests 130, FBI says

US and Ghanaian authorities arrested 130 people in a raid on an internet scam compound in Ghana, FBI director Kash Patel said Thursday.

Patel said the suspects were accused of taking more than $10 million in scams targeting 89 people. He said some of those arrested had been trafficked and forced to work in the compound.

Patel announced the raid on social media and described it as part of the FBI’s Operation Blackout, which targets internet scam rings. He said the operation had so far seized $17 billion worldwide and warned more than 10,000 Americans at risk of being scammed.

“These scam compounds target American citizens and destroy lives,” Patel said.

Fraud groups operating from houses or apartment complexes often target people around the world, including older people in wealthy countries. Similar high-profile cases have emerged from southeast Asia and Nigeria in recent years.