Meta nukes massive Instagram sextortion network of 63,000 accounts

Meta has removed 63,000 Instagram accounts from Nigeria that were involved in sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of 2,500 accounts linked to 20 individuals targeting primarily adult men in the United States.

The social media giant said these accounts are linked to an organized cybercrime group called ‘Yahoo Boys,’ that has recently increased its operational volume.

Apart from the offending Instagram accounts, Meta has also deleted 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 Facebook Pages, and 5,700 Facebook Groups, also based in Nigeria, that were handing out tips and training material for carrying out various scams.

Additionally, measures have been implemented to automatically block attempts by scammers to rebound by creating new accounts on social media platforms.

Sextortion scams is a form of cybercrime where perpetrators coerce individuals into sending explicit images or videos and then threaten to release them unless a ransom is paid, or more media is sent.

The scammer, who typically operates under a fake or stolen identity, initially presents romantic interest to establish trust and then persuades the victim to share intimate photos.

In the next phase, the scammer reveals their true intentions, threatening to distribute the material to the victim’s friends, family, or public portals unless they get paid.

Sextortion can have devastating, long-lasting effects on the victim, so social media platforms that scammers abuse to carry out this crime are actively working towards the quick identification and removal of offending accounts.

Meta says it achieves better results on that front by ramping up human-powered investigations combined with using a new set of technical signals that pinpoint suspicious activity.

Meta’s protection systems and anti-extortion measures include:

• Nudity protection (auto blurring) in direct messages, even in end-to-end encrypted chats.
• Default teen users to stricter messaging settings that block unwanted contacts and deliver safety notices to prevent exploitation.
• Hiding teen profiles from potential scammers or making the “Message” button unavailable.
• Pop-up messages to users who interacted with sextortionists pointing them to support portals like Stop Sextortion Hub.
• Sharing signals about sextortion accounts with other tech firms through Lantern to disrupt their activities on all major platforms.

The FBI previously reported that sextortion crimes targeting young males are unfortunately on the rise, and in some cases, led victims to self-harm or even suicide.

Victims of sextortion are advised to report it immediately via the FBI’s tips portal and also consult this wepage for more information about the particular crime and how to protect from it.

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