Meta said Wednesday it has removed around 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria attempting to target people in financial sextortion scams. Meta also took down 1,300 Facebook accounts including 5,700 Facebook Groups and 200 Facebook pages based in Nigeria. File photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo
July 24 (UPI) -- Meta said Wednesday it removed tens of thousands accounts based in Nigeria in a crackdown on sextortion schemes stemming from the country.
The company said it took down 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria, including a smaller coordinated network of roughly 2,500 accounts linked to 20 people.
"Financial sextortion is a horrific crime that can have devastating consequences. Our teams have deep experience in fighting this crime and work closely with experts to recognize the tactics scammers use, understand how they evolve and develop effective ways to help stop them," Meta said.
Meta also removed Facebook accounts, Pages and Groups it said were run by Yahoo Boys, a loosely organized group of cybercriminals operating largely out of Nigeria. Those accounts are banned under Meta's Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy.
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According to Meta those accounts were trying to "organize, recruit and train new scammers."
The removed Nigerian Instagram accounts targeted primarily adult men in the United States. Those accounts were identified using new technical signals Meta has developed to spot accounts engaging in sextortion.
Meta also removed approximately 7,200 Facebook assets, including 1,300 accounts, 200 Facebook pages and 5,700 Facebook Groups based in Nigeria that were allegedly providing tips for how to conduct sextortion scams.
"While these investigations and disruptions are critical, they're just one part of our approach," Meta's statement said. "We continue to support law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting these crimes, including by responding to valid legal requests for information and by alerting them when we become aware of someone at risk of imminent harm, in accordance with our terms of service and applicable law."
In April, two people in Nigeria were arrested and charged in the sexual extortion case of an Australian teen who died by suicide.
The boy took his own life after threats that intimate pictures he shared online with someone he thought was a female would be sent to family and friends.
The term sextortion refers to the act of getting victims to create and send sexually explicit material, then demanding money for not releasing that material.
Also in April, Meta tested new features to fight sextortion by automatically blurring nude images in Instagram by default on accounts for users younger than 18.
Meta said then that it had spent years working closely with experts to understand how scammers use sextortion to find and extort victims online.
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According to Meta those accounts were trying to "organize, recruit and train new scammers."
The removed Nigerian Instagram accounts targeted primarily adult men in the United States. Those accounts were identified using new technical signals Meta has developed to spot accounts engaging in sextortion.
Meta also removed approximately 7,200 Facebook assets, including 1,300 accounts, 200 Facebook pages and 5,700 Facebook Groups based in Nigeria that were allegedly providing tips for how to conduct sextortion scams.
"While these investigations and disruptions are critical, they're just one part of our approach," Meta's statement said. "We continue to support law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting these crimes, including by responding to valid legal requests for information and by alerting them when we become aware of someone at risk of imminent harm, in accordance with our terms of service and applicable law."
In April, two people in Nigeria were arrested and charged in the sexual extortion case of an Australian teen who died by suicide.
The boy took his own life after threats that intimate pictures he shared online with someone he thought was a female would be sent to family and friends.
The term sextortion refers to the act of getting victims to create and send sexually explicit material, then demanding money for not releasing that material.
Also in April, Meta tested new features to fight sextortion by automatically blurring nude images in Instagram by default on accounts for users younger than 18.
Meta said then that it had spent years working closely with experts to understand how scammers use sextortion to find and extort victims online.
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