Whatsapp deletes 6.8 million accounts linked to scams
Aug. 6 (UPI) -- WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts linked to scammers around the world, Meta said.
WhatsApp rolled out a new anti-scam measure to alert users of scams. Many of the scams were tied to criminal organizations in South East Asia, according to Meta.
The criminals would hijack WhatsApp accounts for group chats to promote fake investment schemes using cryptocurrency as payment.
Meta said WhatsApp "proactively detected and took down accounts before scam centers were able to operationalize them."
U.K. consumer rights organization Which? Said "Meta must do much more to stop these criminals across all its platforms."
"Meta needs to ensure that scams are prevented from ever appearing on its platforms in the first place. Ofcom must now take action to enforce the parts of the Online Safety Act already in effect, and to issue robust rules governing fraudulent paid-for ads, so that tech firms are forced to take full responsibility for the content on their sites," Consumer law expert Lisa Webb said.
Meta announced some tips to avoid scams in private messaging, such as pausing, questioning, and verifying if the messages are legitimate.
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