Meta Blocks 3.7 Million Accounts Linked to Scams

Meta removed more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages, and groups linked to fraud operations from West Africa. According to the company, most of them targeted users in the US and UK.

Scammers mass-created fake profiles, posed as US and UK residents, and pulled users into various fraudulent schemes. The main areas included fake investments, including cryptocurrency, fake job listings, the sale of goods that were never delivered, and dating scams followed by attempts to extract money.

Advertising accounts were also suspended. According to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), more than 490 ad accounts, over 490 FB accounts, and more than 380 fraudulent domains were disabled.

All of this was the result of an international operation involving the FBI, the UK’s NCA, law enforcement agencies from other countries, and 15 technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Coinbase, and OpenAI. The main joint stage of the operation took place from October 6 to 9.

In addition to the suspensions, law enforcement received information about more than 30 suspected scam centers. In Ghana and Nigeria, 28 people were detained, while 117 people who had been held and forced to engage in fraud were freed. More than $11 million that could be frozen was also identified.