Meta removes 63,000 Nigerian Instagram accounts accused of sextortion scandals

Meta , the parent company of Facebook and Instagram , has removed down 63,000 Instagram accounts based in Nigeria , taking down a widespread sextortion racket . The company announced on that these accounts were engaged in financial sextortion scams, primarily targeting adult men in the United States.

The crackdown, which occurred in late May, focused on a network of cybercriminals known as the " Yahoo Boys ." Among the removed accounts, 2,500 were part of a coordinated network linked to a group of 20 individuals. Meta also deleted thousands of Facebook accounts, groups, and pages that provided scam tips, fake photos, and scripts for would-be sextortionists.

Sextortion, a crime involving blackmail through the threat of releasing sexually explicit images, has seen a rapid rise in recent years. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified it as one of the fastest-growing crimes targeting children in the country. Meta's action comes in the wake of several reported suicides among minors who fell victim to such scams.

While the majority of the removed accounts targeted adults, Meta confirmed that some had also targeted minors. These cases were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

In response to the growing threat, Meta has implemented new technical signals to detect and disrupt these scams. The company is also testing new features to warn users about potential scams, including a system to detect nudity in direct messages and display warnings to both senders and recipients.

Earlier this year, the company introduced safety features in Instagram messages to automatically detect nudity and warn users about potential blackmail scams.