Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced the removal of 63,000 accounts linked to the notorious “Yahoo Boys” scam group in its Q1 2024 Adversarial Threat Report on Wednesday.
The deleted accounts were used for financial sextortion scams and distributing blackmail scripts.
A smaller network of 2,500 accounts, connected to about 20 individuals, specifically targeted adult men in the United States using fake identities.
Meta identified and disabled these accounts using a combination of advanced technical signals and comprehensive investigations, enhancing its automated detection systems.
“Financial sextortion is a borderless crime, fueled in recent years by the increased activity of Yahoo Boys, loosely organised cybercriminals operating largely out of Nigeria that specialize in different types of scams,” the social media giant stated. It added, “We’ve removed around 63,000 accounts in Nigeria attempting to target people with financial sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts.”
The company also explained, “We’ve also removed a set of Facebook accounts, Pages, and groups run by Yahoo Boys—banned under our Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy—that were attempting to organize, recruit, and train new scammers.”
During the investigation, Meta found that most scammers’ attempts were unsuccessful, though some targeted minors. These cases were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
