Meta has announced a major crackdown on sextortion scams, revealing that it has taken down approximately 63,000 accounts originating from Nigeria.
These accounts were primarily involved in targeting U.S. adults and children with sexual extortion, or sextortion, schemes.
According to Meta, the majority of these scams were directed at adult men in the U.S., utilizing fake accounts to obscure the scammers’ identities.
Meta’s investigation revealed that these operations were largely unsuccessful.
However, there were also attempts to target minors, which were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the U.S.
The surge in sextortion cases has been partly attributed to a loosely organized group known as the “Yahoo Boys,” who operate primarily out of Nigeria.
This group has a notorious history of engaging in various online scams.
Meta’s recent action involved removing not only the Instagram accounts but also 7,200 Facebook accounts, pages, and groups that were providing scamming tips.
Among the removed accounts was a coordinated network of approximately 2,500 accounts managed by about 20 individuals.
Meta classified this group under its policy against dangerous organizations and individuals.
Meta’s efforts come on the heels of an FBI warning about a significant increase in sextortion cases targeting children, particularly boys aged 14 to 17, although any child can fall victim.
In response, Meta has been deploying new tools on Instagram to protect young users and combat sextortion, including a feature to automatically blur nudity in direct messages.
This recent disclosure by Meta aims to raise awareness of the ongoing threat of sextortion and the company’s initiatives to combat it.
The social media giant has faced increasing pressure from governments, especially in the U.S., to address concerns over the safety of children on its platforms.
Earlier this year, U.S. lawmakers accused Meta’s executives of negligence regarding the protection of children from sexual predation.
In addition to removing the fraudulent accounts, Meta reported that some of these accounts were providing detailed instructions on conducting scams, including selling scripts and guides and sharing links to photo collections for creating fake accounts.
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