Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced on Wednesday in its Q1 2024 Adversarial Threat Report that it has removed 63,000 accounts linked to the infamous “Yahoo Boys” scam group.
These accounts, deleted over the past few weeks, were involved in financial sextortion scams and distributing blackmail scripts. A smaller network of 2,500 accounts, associated with approximately 20 individuals, primarily targeted adult men in the United States using fake identities.
Meta identified and disabled these accounts using advanced technical signals and comprehensive investigations, improving its automated detection systems.
“Financial sextortion is a borderless crime, fueled in recent years by the increased activity of Yahoo Boys, loosely organized cybercriminals operating largely out of Nigeria that specialize in different types of scams,” the company stated.
It continued, “We’ve removed around 63,000 accounts in Nigeria attempting to target people with financial sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts.”
Meta also removed Facebook accounts, Pages, and groups run by Yahoo Boys, banned under its Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy, which were attempting to organize, recruit, and train new scammers.
During the investigation, Meta found that most scammers’ attempts were unsuccessful, although some had targeted minors. These cases were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Meta shared information with other tech companies through the Tech Coalition’s Lantern program to help curb these scams across platforms.
Additionally, Meta removed approximately 7,200 assets in Nigeria, including 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 pages, and 5,700 groups that were providing scam-related resources. These assets were found offering scripts and guides for scams and sharing links to collections of photos for creating fake accounts.
Since this disruption, Meta’s systems have actively blocked attempts from these groups to return, continuously improving their detection capabilities.
Meta has been working closely with law enforcement, supporting investigations and prosecutions by responding to legal requests and alerting authorities to imminent threats. The company emphasized that its efforts extend beyond account removal.
“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 company revealed.
To protect users, especially teens, Meta has implemented stricter messaging settings for users under 16 (under 18 in certain countries) and displays safety notices to encourage cautious behavior online.
Last week, Meta was fined $220 million by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for multiple violations of data protection laws linked to WhatsApp. The investigation, initiated in May 2021, found that Meta’s privacy policies infringed on users’ rights, including unauthorized data sharing and discriminatory practices.
Meta plans to appeal the decision, arguing that it disagrees with the findings and the imposed penalty. The FCCPC aims to ensure fair treatment of Nigerian users and compliance with local regulations.
(Punch)