After cases of the cybercrime soaring in recent years, Instagram owner Meta has removed thousands of accounts in Nigeria involved in sextortion schemes.
Instagram owner Meta has removed thousands of accounts in Nigeria involved in sextortion schemes.
The cyber plots involved scammers posing as young women to trick individuals into sending explicit material before blackmailing them.
Meta announced in a blog post it had eliminated about 63,000 accounts attempting to engage in these scams, saying: “Financial sextortion is a horrific crime that can have devastating consequences.”
The company also took down 5,700 Facebook groups where scammers exchanged tips on how to exploit victims.
Experts and authorities have repeatedly warned social media users to remain vigilant against the dangers of such scams – which have soared massively in the last few years.
Perpetrators of sextortion scams typically present themselves online as potential romantic partners and aiming to persuade their targets to send explicit or intimate images.
They often initiate the exchange by sending a nude image first and asking for one in return.
Once they obtain the images, they threaten to circulate them publicly unless the victim pays a ransom.
Meta revealed the accounts it disrupted and removed were linked to a broader network of cybercriminals in Nigeria, known as ‘Yahoo Boys’.
The fraudsters are on Meta’s list of dangerous organisations and individuals banned from its platforms.
It employs various technologies to identify accounts engaged in sextortion.
These include automatically blurring nude images sent in messages and alerting users that they do not have to respond, allowing them to block the sender and report the chat instantly.
Additionally, as part of new tools announced in April, Meta will not display the “message” button on a teen’s profile to accounts suspected of engaging in sextortion, even if they have previously connected.
Instagram owner Meta axes thousands of accounts in Nigeria linked to sextortion scams
