Meta is launching significant new tools to better protect its users on Messenger and WhatsApp from potential scams. This effort includes new warnings on WhatsApp that appear when users attempt to share their screen with an unknown contact during a video call. This proactive measure is designed to stop users from inadvertently revealing sensitive personal information, such as bank account details or verification codes, to fraudsters who often trick victims into a seemingly innocent screen share.
On Messenger, users now have the option to turn on a new setting called “Scam detection,” which can be found within the Privacy & safety settings. When activated, this feature alerts users if they receive a potentially suspicious message from someone they don’t know that exhibits the tell-tale signs of a scam. Importantly, Meta states that because the initial detection is performed on your device, chats that utilize end-to-end encryption remain secure. If a suspicious message is flagged, the user is then asked if they wish to send the recent messages to an AI for a more thorough review, though doing so means those messages are no longer end-to-end encrypted.
If the AI review confirms the message is likely a scam, the user is provided with more information about common fraudulent schemes, such as deceptive job offers requiring a payment, fast cash opportunities, or impossible work-from-home positions. The platform also offers immediate options to block or report the suspicious account. This initiative is part of Meta’s larger, ongoing campaign to combat fraud, which recently included taking action against over 21,000 Facebook Pages and accounts that were pretending to be customer support to trick people into sharing personal information.
The tech giant further reported that since the beginning of the year, it has detected and disrupted nearly 8 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram that were tied to criminal scam centers. These centers, which operate out of countries including Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines, target people globally, including the elderly, through various channels like messaging, dating apps, social media, and crypto platforms. These schemes, often referred to as romance baiting or “pig butchering,” are a type of investment fraud run by cybercrime syndicates in Southeast Asia.
In these operations, scammers—who are themselves often trafficked into the region and held against their will—initiate contact with victims on dating apps, social media, or private messaging services like WhatsApp. After building rapport, they guide the victim toward bogus investment opportunities, frequently involving cryptocurrencies, and convince them to deposit increasingly larger sums of money into fraudulent platforms with promises of huge returns. This process is a form of deep psychological manipulation, where perpetrators cultivate an emotional bond to lower the victim’s defenses, leading to devastating financial losses before the criminals finally disappear.
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