Meta announced on Wednesday that it has deleted 63,000 Instagram accounts connected to sextortion scams originating from Nigeria. This follows a $220 million fine imposed on the company by Nigerian authorities.
The deleted accounts included a network of 2,500 profiles associated with a group of 20 individuals.
Meta removed 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 Facebook Pages, and 5,700 Facebook Groups from Nigeria for sharing scam tips.
Sextortion scams typically involve perpetrators posing as members of the opposite sex to solicit explicit images from victims, which are then used to extort money under the threat of public release.
Meta stated that the scammers primarily targeted adult men in the US, using fake accounts to conceal their identities. The company identified “Yahoo Boys,” a term for internet fraudsters, as the masterminds behind these accounts. Although most scam attempts were unsuccessful and aimed at adults, minors were also targeted.
A Homeland Security Investigation from October 2021 to March 2023 recorded 13,000 reports of financial sextortion involving 12,600 minors, predominantly boys, in the United States. According to the FBI, these scams have led to at least 20 suicides.
The agency noted that offenders are often based outside the US, primarily in West African countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast, and Philippines in Southeast Asian countries.
Meta announced in April that it is testing an AI-powered “nudity protection” feature in Instagram direct messages to safeguard teenagers.
In the same month, two men in Nigeria were arrested for attempting to extort an Australian teenager by threatening to release personal photos unless paid 500 Australian dollars ($330). Tragically, the boy committed suicide after being threatened.
Meta is collaborating with law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute these crimes.
The recent removal of scam accounts comes shortly after Nigerian authorities fined Meta for “multiple and repeated” data violations.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) accused Meta of breaching data protection and consumer rights laws on Facebook and WhatsApp.
