Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has removed 63,000 accounts linked to financial sextortion schemes and blackmail activities, according to its Q1 2024 Adversarial Threat Report released on Wednesday.
The deletion of these accounts, which occurred over the past few weeks, targets a widespread issue of financial sextortion, a type of scam fueled by “Yahoo Boys”—a loosely organised group of cybercriminals predominantly operating out of Nigeria. These scammers have been using these accounts to execute financial extortion scams and distribute blackmail scripts.
The report highlights a smaller network of approximately 2,500 accounts, associated with about 20 individuals that primarily targeted adult men in the United States through fake identities. Meta identified and disabled these accounts by employing advanced technical signals and comprehensive investigations, significantly enhancing its automated detection systems.
Meta stated, “Financial sextortion is a borderless crime, increasingly perpetrated by Yahoo Boys who specialise in various types of scams. We’ve removed around 63,000 accounts in Nigeria attempting to engage in financial sextortion, including a coordinated network of approximately 2,500 accounts.”In addition to removing these accounts, Meta deleted several Facebook accounts, Pages, and groups run by Yahoo Boys that were in violation of its Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy. These groups were reportedly involved in organising, recruiting, and training new scammers.
The investigation revealed that while many scam attempts were unsuccessful, some targeted minors. These cases were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Meta also shared information with other tech companies through the Tech Coalition’s Lantern program to combat these scams across different platforms.
The company removed around 7,200 assets in Nigeria, which included 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 Pages, and 5,700 groups. These assets were involved in providing scam-related resources, such as scripts, guides, and links to photo collections for creating fake accounts.
“We also fund and support NCMEC and the International Justice Mission to run Project Boost, a program that trains law enforcement agencies around the world in processing and acting on NCMEC reports.
“We’ve conducted several training sessions so far, including in Nigeria and the Cote d’Ivoire, with our most recent session taking place just last month,” the firm revealed.
In addition to these efforts, Meta disclosed that it has introduced stricter messaging settings for users under 16 (and under 18 in some countries) and is displaying safety notices to promote safer online behavior, particularly for teenagers.
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