The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has led a global fight against online fraud. The three-month drive led to more than 960 arrests across 30 countries. Officials say they found over USD 39 billion in funds and digital assets linked to scams. The effort also stopped millions of scam attempts.
The operation was called Confrontation Ghost. It ran from July 1 to September 30, 2026. The UAE Ministry of Interior led it. The focus was fraud on digital platforms, scams that use AI, and online sextortion.
Police stopped more than 123.71 million scam attempts worldwide. They identified over 3,500 suspects and 15,500 victims. Officers raided 29 fraud centers.
Authorities also shut more than 4,000 bank accounts and 570 social media accounts tied to the scams. Agencies shared over 9,000 pieces of intelligence to trace criminal networks and follow money across borders.
The USD 39 billion figure is the value of assets identified. It is not money already seized or paid back to victims. Officials have not said how much has been recovered.
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Police from 30 countries took part. Interpol and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance joined them. So did 13 private companies, including Mastercard, Huawei, Meta, TikTok, and Crypto.com.
The firms helped spot odd activity and share leads. This helped officers shut down scams run through online platforms and money services. Criminal groups now use digital tools and cryptocurrency to move money and hide where it came from.
The findings were shared in Vienna at the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime praised the teamwork.
The UAE says it will keep working with other countries, tech firms and banks. The goal is to stop fraud before it spreads and to cut off the money that feeds it. Online scams now cross borders in seconds, so police cannot fight them alone. Officials say shared data and quick action will matter most in the months ahead. The next test is getting the money back to victims.