Meta says working to thwart WhatsApp scammers

Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in the first half of this year and is ramping up safeguards against such schemes.

"Our team identified the accounts and disabled them before the criminal organizations that created them could use them," WhatsApp external affairs director Clair Deevy said.

Often run by organized gangs, the scams range from bogus cryptocurrency investments to get-rich-quick pyramid schemes, WhatsApp executives said in a briefing.

"There is always a catch and it should be a red flag for everyone: you have to pay upfront to get promised returns or earnings," Meta-owned WhatsApp said in a blog post.

WhatsApp detected and banned more than 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers, most of them in Southeast Asia, according to Meta.

WhatsApp and Meta worked with OpenAI to disrupt a scam traced to Cambodia that used ChatGPT to generate text messages containing a link to a WhatsApp chat to hook victims, according to the tech firms.

Meta on Tuesday began prompting WhatsApp users to be wary when added to unfamiliar chat groups by people they don't know.

New "safety overviews" provide information about the group and tips on spotting scams, along with the option of making a quick exit.

"We've all been there: someone you don't know attempting to message you, or add you to a group chat, promising low-risk investment opportunities or easy money, or saying you have an unpaid bill that's overdue," Meta said in a blog post.

"The reality is, these are often scammers trying to prey on people's kindness, trust and willingness to help -- or, their fears that they could be in trouble if they don't send money fast."