Financial sextortion is a crime with severe repercussions. Meta has extensive experience combating this issue, working closely with experts to recognize scammers' tactics, understand their evolution, and develop effective countermeasures. Financial sextortion crosses borders, and cybercriminals known as Yahoo Boys have increasingly targeted individuals online. Under Meta's Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy, Yahoo Boys' accounts are removed when identified.
Following the Q1 2024 Adversarial Threat Report, Meta announced the disruption of two sets of accounts in Nigeria affiliated with Yahoo Boys engaged in financial sextortion scams.
Meta removed approximately 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria involved in these scams. This included a coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts linked to about 20 individuals targeting primarily adult men in the US using fake identities. Through new technical signals and investigations, Meta identified and disabled most of these accounts.
While most scam attempts were unsuccessful and targeted adults, some also aimed at minors. These cases were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Relevant information was shared with other tech companies through the Tech Coalition’s Lantern program.
Additionally, Meta removed around 7,200 assets on Facebook from Nigeria that provided tips for conducting scams. These included selling scripts and guides for scamming and sharing photos for fake accounts.
Since this disruption, systems have been identifying and blocking attempts from these groups to re-emerge. New tactics observed have improved detection capabilities for similar activities.
Meta continues to support law enforcement by responding to legal requests for information and alerting them of imminent harm risks. The company funds NCMEC and the International Justice Mission's Project Boost to train global law enforcement agencies on processing NCMEC reports. Training sessions have been conducted in Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
Efforts are also focused on helping people recognize and avoid scams while making it difficult for criminals to succeed. Teens under 16 (under 18 in certain countries) are defaulted into stricter message settings on Instagram to prevent unwanted interactions. Safety Notices encourage caution among users.
New signals have been developed to identify potentially engaging sextortion accounts, preventing interaction with teens. An on-device nudity protection feature is being tested on Instagram DMs to blur detected nude images, promoting cautious behavior and directing users to safety resources like NCMEC’s Take It Down platform.
Meta remains committed to understanding criminal operations to stay ahead of evolving threats while cooperating with child safety experts, law enforcement, and the tech industry across all platforms used by these criminals.
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