Report
FBI Targets Ghana Scam Compound Linked to Nearly $10M in Losses; More Than 130 Detained
Fox News reports 89 identified fraud victims and more than 300 seized devices in Ghana. The detention total includes suspected trafficking victims, not just arrested suspects.
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Added 14 October 2026 · Ghana · Investigation ongoing
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Operation Blackout in Ghana
Fox News Digital reports that the FBI's international crackdown on overseas scam centers targeting Americans has led to more than 130 arrests or detentions in Ghana, with investigators identifying nearly $10 million in reported losses.
The operation forms part of Operation Blackout, the FBI's international campaign against scam compounds targeting Americans, particularly seniors. According to information the FBI provided to Fox News Digital, investigators identified 89 fraud victims and seized more than 300 devices.
The detention total includes suspected victims of human trafficking expected to be repatriated, primarily to Nigeria. It must not be read as more than 130 criminal suspects arrested. The separate supplied Justice Department account describes 19 arrests and 117 trafficking victims in Sasaabi, with approximately $8.3 million in identified fraud losses. The two sources describe their totals differently; they are presented separately, not added together.
FBI statement and wider campaign
FBI Director Kash Patel described Operation Blackout as a global campaign to dismantle scam centers at their source and protect Americans' savings.
“Those who steal from Americans no longer have sanctuary – this FBI will find them and bring them to justice.”
— Kash Patel, quoted by Fox News Digital
Fox News also reports Patel's September warning that scam networks were expanding from Southeast Asia and the Middle East into central and sub-Saharan Africa. The outlet previously reported that U.S. investigators helped authorities in Madagascar dismantle 13 scam centers and process more than 3,200 devices.
According to the FBI figures cited by Fox News, Operation Blackout has seized roughly $17 billion globally, led to hundreds of arrests and freed thousands of trafficked workers. The bureau has not supplied a detailed breakdown of those seized assets. These are global claims, not the Ghana operation's losses or recoveries.
The bureau says warnings to more than 10,000 Americans prevented an estimated $670 million in losses. In its separate Operation Level Up prevention initiative, the FBI reported that 77% of more than 10,400 potential victims contacted did not know they were being scammed.
The Ghana investigation remains ongoing, and investigators expect identified victim numbers and losses to grow.
Source: Fox News Digital — reporting based on FBI information
Related report: West Africa Joint Disruption Week
Photographs supplied with the report
People at computers inside a suspected scam center in Ghana; faces are obscured. Supplied photograph; existing obscuring and original detail retained.
Laptops pictured in connection with the Ghana operation. Supplied photograph; existing obscuring and original detail retained.
FBI personnel and other individuals pictured outside a building in Ghana. Supplied photograph; existing obscuring and original detail retained.
Smartphones pictured in connection with the Ghana operation. Supplied photograph; existing obscuring and original detail retained.
Legal status: Arrests, detentions and charges are not convictions. Accused people are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Trafficking victims must not be described as offenders solely because they were found at a compound. Do not approach suspects; refer credible information to law enforcement.