Instagram removes 63,000 accounts used for sextortion.
Instagram owner Meta announced that it had removed thousands of accounts in Nigeria linked to sextortion schemes, BBC reported.
These accounts targeted young women with fake identities to persuade the victims into sending sexually explicit content, which the fraudsters use to blackmail them for money.
This ‘sextortion scheme’ has triggered suicides as many victims ended their lives due to the unbearable pressure from scammers and societal stigma.
Meta said on Wednesday in its blog post that it had removed around 63,000 accounts that tried to engage in these frauds.
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”Financial sextortion is a heinous crime that often produces dire repercussions,” the company noted.
Meta also deleted 5,700 Facebook groups where fraudsters shared information about how to defraud people.
Authorities are worried about ‘sextortion scheme’ and urging social media users to stay alert and protect themselves against it.
It is important to mention that in May a 16-year-old Murray Dowey from Dunblane committed suicide after becoming a victim of these scammers.
📰 Meta Removes 63,000 Accounts Linked to Sextortion Scammers
Meta facilitates this + crimes against children. This is why Zuckerberg looks different. He was hung for crimes against children at Gitmo.https://t.co/gvjSZHN1a6 pic.twitter.com/TZAIXQXytX
— BuyTheCryptoDip (@BuyTheCryptoDip) July 24, 2024
The BBC also reported that they found guides on social media for sextortion.
The sextortion scammers mostly pose as potential romantic partners and force the victims to share nude images by sending inappropriate photos in exchange.
After receiving the images, the scammers demand money which if not paid, threaten to upload the images online.
Meta maintained that the accounts that it had closed were linked to a large group of Nigerian cybercriminals referred to as “Yahoo Boys” which have been banned by the company alongside other organizations and persons assumed dangerous.
To avoid sextortion, Meta uses various technologies such as automatically pixelating nude images in messages, allowing users to block and report suspicious profiles.
