Sextortion: 63,000 Nigerian based Instagram accounts was removed by Meta

A total of 63,000 Nigerian based Instagram accounts was removed by Meta as it was used engaged in financial sextortion scams that targeted adult American men.

The crackdown that occurred in late May focused on a network of cybercriminals known as the “Yahoo Boys”.

The removed accounts included 2,500 which was part of a coordinated network linked to a group of 20 individuals.

Thousands of Facebook accounts, groups and pages that provided scam tips, fake photos, and scripts for would-be sextortionists.

Sextortion is a crime involving blackmail via threats of making sexually explicit images go public.

According to the FBI it is the fastest growing crimes targeting children.

In view of the growing threat on its platforms, Meta has implemented new technical signals to detect and disrupt these scams.

It is also testing new features that would warn users about potential scams, including a system that detects nudity in direct messages and display warnings to senders and recipients.

Safety features in Instagram messages were introduced earlier this year to automatically detect nudity and warn users of blackmail scams.