WhatsApp recently announced that they removed 6.8 million accounts associated with such scams just in the first six months of this year alone. This new action is one piece of a larger effort of tackling more sophisticated fraud aimed at users across the globe. Meta, the parent company of ChatGPT’s creators OpenAI, is collaborating with WhatsApp to get AI assistance. Collectively, they’re making a concerted effort to target and shut down these organized fraud rings.
Criminals often first reach out to their victims over text message. Once they get you in conversation, they’ll move the discussion to social media apps or private messaging threads. This tactic makes it easier for them to further scam unsuspecting users, enticing them into all sorts of scams. The successful con of a Cambodian criminal syndicate will be remembered. They laundered an elaborate rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme through social media, luring people in with lavish promises of dollars for engagement on social media posts.
The increasing incidence of these types of scams has led law enforcement agencies to warn the public, especially in countries such as Singapore. Law enforcement agencies are warning consumers to be on the lookout and suspicious of strange solicitations they might receive via messaging apps in light of this latest scourge. This consumer alert serves as a reminder to all users about what scammers are doing and how they are trying to exploit the online community.
In fact, most of these scams link right back to organized crime hubs in Southeast Asia. Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand have become the leading countries in this race to the bottom. Civil human rights abuses Reports show that these bogus tax return shops frequently use indentured servitude, which deepens the crisis. The magnitude of these operations is why these deceptive operations have led to billions of dollars being defrauded from victims worldwide.
WhatsApp has doubled down on protecting its global user base from these sorts of attacks. Through their work with Meta and OpenAI the company hopes to help break down the networks that are behind facilitating these scams. In fact, WhatsApp has banned 6.8 million accounts in the past six months. This move demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to protecting its users from scams and devious schemes.