Meta Cracks Down on Nigerian Sextortion Scams

Meta Platforms has removed 63,000 accounts in Nigeria that were involved in sextortion scams targeting primarily adult men in the U.S. These scams included fake accounts and compromised photos to extort money. Meta also took down additional networks and accounts providing scam tips and targeting minors.

Meta Platforms announced on Wednesday that it had removed approximately 63,000 accounts in Nigeria involved in sextortion scams targeting U.S. men. The crackdown targeted notorious 'Yahoo boys' known for various online scams.

In addition to Instagram accounts, Meta also took down 7,200 Facebook accounts, pages, and groups dedicated to scamming tips.

Meta revealed that a smaller, coordinated network of 2,500 accounts targeting adult men and minors was also dismantled, and efforts to disrupt such scams included new technical signals for identification.