WhatsApp removed 6.8 million accounts that were connected to scammers who were preying on individuals worldwide in the first half of this year, says its parent company, Meta.
Several of them were associated with scam operations run by organised crime groups in South East Asia, who in most cases employed forced workers in their operations, says the social media giant.
Meta announced the move as WhatsApp introduced new anti-scammers features to warn users of suspected fraud, including a user being added to a group chat by an unfamiliar number.
The move is aimed at targeting a growing trend wherein scammers steal WhatsApp accounts or add users to group chats, offering non-existent investment opportunities and other scam schemes. Meta explained that WhatsApp “proactively detected and removed accounts before scam centres were able to operationalise them.”
One example saw WhatsApp collaborate with Meta and ChatGPT-creator OpenAI to disrupt scams associated with a Cambodian crime syndicate that sold likes on social media posts for cash in order to promote a bogus rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme. It stated scammers had utilised ChatGPT to generate the instructions handed out to victims.
Usually, fraudsters would initially reach out to possible victims in a text message before they shift the discussion to social media or messaging apps, Meta said. The scams were typically finished on payment or cryptocurrency sites, it added.
“There is always a catch, and it should be a red flag for everyone: you have to pay upfront to get promised returns or earnings. UK consumer rights group Which? Also welcomed the move, but stated: “Meta needs to do a lot more to prevent these scammers on all of its platforms.”
Consumer law specialist Lisa Webb also commented: “Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users are being flooded with fake ads for everything from fake investments to shoddy goods and phantom job opportunities. Meta needs to take action to stop scams reaching its platforms in the first place.”
“Meta must make sure that scams are blocked from ever showing on its sites in the first place. Ofcom must now act to enforce existing provisions of the Online Safety Act, and issue strong rules covering fraudulent paid-for adverts, so that technology companies are compelled to take complete responsibility for the material on their platforms.”
Scam operations that rip individuals off billions of dollars are infamous for emanating from South East Asian nations such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. They are also infamously known to hire individuals who are coerced into performing the scams.
Law enforcers in the area have also asked people to be wary of any possible scams and utilise anti-scam tools like WhatsApp’s two-step verification tool to prevent hijacking their accounts. In Singapore, for instance, customers have also been advised by police to be cautious of receiving any strange requests on chat platforms.
