Latest news with #DavidAgranovich
Khaleej Times
05-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Meta targets fake celebrity ads in Europe, South Korea
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is launching a facial recognition tool to detect scam adverts featuring images of celebrities in Britain, the European Union and South Korea. Meta has already tested the tool in other countries, where it plans to expand the feature to cover more celebrities. David Agranovich, Meta's cyber threats director, said public figures in Britain and the EU will start receiving notifications in coming weeks allowing them to opt-in to receive the "celeb-bait" protection tool with facial recognition technology. "We do believe that this tool will help us identify misused images of public figures," even if the ad uses generative artificial intelligence, Agranovich told reporters. Fake adverts featuring doctored images of celebrities are widespread on social media, often luring users into sharing personal information or sending money. If a public figures enables Meta's new feature, the tool will scan their profile picture and compare it with faces appearing in suspected fake ads, which will be automatically blocked if misuse is confirmed. Meta also announced it will integrate facial recognition into its account recovery tools for all users. Those opting in will be able to verify their identity by recording a short video if their account is locked. The company said facial data will be used only for this verification process and deleted immediately afterward. It added that the technology complies with European data protection regulations. Meta had previously halted facial recognition on its platforms in 2021 over privacy concerns but announced in October 2024 that it would reinstate the technology to combat deceptive ads.
Japan Times
14-02-2025
- Japan Times
Got a digital crush this Valentine's? Beware of scams, says Meta.
San Francisco – On Feb. 12, Meta warned internet users to be wary of online acquaintances "This is a new tool in the toolkit of scammers," Meta Platforms global threat disruption policy director David Agranovich told journalists during a briefing. "These scammers evolve consistently; we have to evolve to keep things right." Detection systems in Meta's family of apps including Instagram and WhatsApp rely heavily on behavior patterns and technical signals rather than on imagery, meaning it spies scammer activity despite the AI trickery, according to Agranovich.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Meta warns users not to fall for romance scammers posing as celebrities or military
Think you might have met someone 'attractive, single and successful' on Facebook or Instagram? You might want to think again, Meta says. Ahead of Valentine's Day, the company is once again warning users not to fall for romance scams. These kinds of schemes, in which scammers create fictitious identities to form online relationships with unsuspecting victims, aren't exactly new. (The FTC says that people lost more than a half billion dollars to romance scams in 2021.) But the people behind these scams are apparently persistent. Meta says that already in 2025 it's taken down more than 116,000 accounts and pages across Facebook and Instagram that were linked to romance scams. In 2024, it removed more than 408,000 such accounts. According to Meta, these scam accounts often originate in West African countries with scammers impersonating members of the US military or famous celebrities. In both cases, they'll claim to be 'looking for love' and will strike up conversations with people on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as well as other messaging platforms. Eventually, the scammer will request gift cards, crypto, or other types of payments. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Meta has taken steps to fight these types of schemes. The company said last year it would bring back facial recognition tech to address celebrity impersonation. It also works with other companies to shut down organized groups of scammers. Still, David Agranovich, director of threat disruption at Meta, noted that "scammers evolve consistently." Researchers also say that AI has made it even easier for scammers to assume convincing fictitious identities. 'In the last three or four months, there's a couple of different tools that have come out where they're free, they're accessible, they're easy to use, and they allow the attacker to transform their face dynamically within the video call,' Rachel Tobac CEO of SocialProof Security said during a call with reporters. 'They can also use these deepfake bots that allow you to build a persona, place phone calls, use a voice clone and a human actually doesn't even need to be involved.'
