Meta Platforms sayst it has removed approximately 63,000 accounts from its Instagram platform in Nigeria, targeting individuals primarily in the United States with financial sexual extortion scams. These scams, often associated with Nigerian online fraudsters dubbed “Yahoo boys,” involve tactics such as posing as individuals in financial distress or promising high returns on investments.
In addition to the Instagram accounts, Meta also took down 7,200 Facebook accounts, pages, and groups that were dedicated to providing advice on scamming techniques. The company highlighted that among the removed accounts, approximately 2,500 were part of a coordinated network linked to about 20 individuals who used fake identities to deceive their targets.
Meta clarified that the scams predominantly targeted adult men in the U.S., employing tactics like “sextortion” where victims are threatened with the release of compromising photos unless they pay a ransom. While most attempts were unsuccessful, Meta reported instances involving minors to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the U.S.
The company utilized new technical signals to detect and address these sex extortion schemes. It emphasized that some of the removed accounts were actively promoting scamming tactics, including selling scripts and guides, and sharing links to photo collections for creating fake profiles.
Nigeria’s reputation for online scams, known as “419 scams” after the relevant section of the national penal code, has grown amid economic challenges, with perpetrators operating from various locations including university dorms and affluent neighborhoods.
Meta’s actions underscore ongoing efforts by tech platforms to combat fraudulent activities and protect users from exploitation online.
Philips Babatunde