Meta has recently taken down approximately 63,000 Facebook accounts in Nigeria that were involved in financial sextortion scams. This also includes groups and pages that were recruiting and training new scammers. Sextortion involves persuading individuals to send explicit photos online and then threatening to expose the images unless a ransom is paid or sexual acts are performed. Recent cases include two Nigerian brothers in Michigan and a Virginia sheriff’s deputy.
The rise in sextortion cases is attributed to a group known as the Yahoo Boys, mainly based in Nigeria. Meta removed accounts and groups associated with this group under its policy against dangerous organizations and individuals. The FBI has also noted a significant increase in sextortion cases targeting children aged 14 to 17.
Although most scam attempts did not succeed and primarily targeted adult men in the US, there were reported cases of minors being targeted. Meta has reported these instances to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Additionally, a coordinated network of 2,500 accounts linked to 20 individuals was taken down by Meta.
In an effort to combat sexual extortion, Meta has introduced new tools in Instagram to protect young users. This includes a feature that automatically blurs nudity in direct messages. These measures are part of Meta’s campaign to combat sexual scams and other forms of image abuse, making it more difficult for criminals to target teenagers.
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