Protecting consumers and strengthening trust across the digital ecosystem are central to Adobe’s mission. Fraud and scams cross platforms, industries and national borders, so no single company or government agency can address them alone.
This is why last week, Adobe participated in Disruption Week, a coordinated operation in London focused on disrupting scam centers operated by Africa-based transnational criminal organization. The joint information-sharing operation included several participating companies and public sector partners such as the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force, the U.K. National Crime Agency, INTERPOL, Australian Federal Police, and other international agencies.
Working together across platforms and borders
Fraud crosses platforms, industries and national borders. These scams often originate from organized networks that exploit trusted digital services, stolen identities, counterfeit software and online platforms. Their activity may move among several products, services and jurisdictions, making it harder for any one organization to see the full picture.
As criminal organizations use AI to scale fraud activity and cyberattacks, governments are increasingly partnering with the private sector to share information about threats in order to disrupt these scams. Law enforcement agencies use information shared from companies to support investigations and other actions within their respective authorities. Last week’s coordinated operation is an example of this strategy in action.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the coordinated effort resulted in the largest take-down of fraudulent social media accounts linked to scam centers in the region, with more than 3.7 million accounts removed, and more than 100 trafficking victims rescued.
These results reflect the value of bringing together organizations with different perspectives and capabilities. Each participant may see only one part of a criminal network’s activity. By sharing information quickly and responsibly, together these organizations can help connect those pieces, enabling earlier intervention and making it more difficult for fraud actors to shift their operations from one service or jurisdiction to another. Working together can turn individual actions into a broader disruption of the networks that enable fraud.
Building on Adobe’s consumer trust work
This week’s operation builds on Adobe’s broader commitment to preventing fraud and protecting people. Earlier this year, Adobe joined the Industry Accord Against Online Scams & Fraud, a voluntary, cross-industry effort focused on prevention, cooperation, resilience and public awareness. The accord connects work already underway across participating companies and provides a foundation for collective action.
Within Adobe, we approach consumer protection as an integrated mission. Teams across engineering, AI, policy, trust and safety and fraud prevention work together to identify emerging risks and respond to abuse. We apply responsible AI and other safeguards to help detect potentially fraudulent activity and support faster action.
Adobe has also worked broadly with other companies to strengthen consumer protections and anti-fraud safeguards across operating systems and platforms. These collaborations reflect a practical reality: scams, fraud and malware operate across the digital ecosystem rather than within the boundaries of a single product or company.
Sustaining collective action
A coordinated operation can produce immediate results, but addressing organized fraud requires sustained engagement. Criminal networks adapt their tactics, change infrastructure and look for new services to exploit. Governments and companies need to stay ahead: strengthening our trusted relationships, improving responsible information sharing and applying lessons from each operation to future prevention and disruption efforts.
Adobe will continue working with government and law enforcement agencies, other companies and industry partners to reduce opportunities for fraud and abuse before people are harmed. Our purpose remains clear: to preserve the trust on which the digital ecosystem depends by protecting consumers now and in the future.
