Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced the removal of 63,000 accounts associated with the notorious “Yahoo Boys” scam group. The accounts, deleted over the past few weeks, were used for financial sextortion scams and distributing blackmail scripts.
“We have removed around 63,000 accounts in Nigeria attempting to target people with financial sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts,” Meta said in its Q1 2024 Adversarial Threat Report.
According to the report, a smaller network of 2,500 accounts, linked to around 20 individuals, targeted adult men in the United States using fake identities. Meta identified and disabled these accounts through a combination of advanced technical signals and comprehensive investigations.
“Financial sextortion is a borderless crime, fueled in recent years by the increased activity of Yahoo Boys, loosely organized cybercriminals operating largely out of Nigeria that specialize in different types of scams,” Meta explained.
The company reported that it has also removed a set of Facebook accounts, pages, and groups run by Yahoo Boys, banned under its dangerous organizations and individuals policy, that were attempting to organize, recruit, and train new scammers.
“We have also removed a set of Facebook accounts, pages, and groups run by Yahoo Boys… that were attempting to organize, recruit, and train new scammers,” Meta said.
In addition to account removal, Meta has implemented stricter messaging settings for users under 16 (under 18 in certain countries) and displays safety notices to encourage cautious behavior online. The company has also funded and supported programs to train law enforcement agencies in processing and acting on reports of online exploitation.
“We’ve conducted several training sessions so far, including in Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, with our most recent session taking place just last month,” Meta revealed.
