Meta Launches New Scam Detection for WhatsApp, Messenger & Facebook
▼ Summary
– Meta is testing a new Facebook feature that warns users about suspicious friend or follow requests from accounts with no mutual connections, foreign locations, or recent join dates.
– WhatsApp will now display warnings for suspicious device linking requests, a common fraud where scammers trick users via malicious QR codes.
– Messenger is expanding its scam detection to more countries, using on-device analysis to flag suspicious messages and offering an optional AI review that breaks encryption.
– Meta aims to have verified advertisers account for 90% of its ad revenue by 2026 and reported removing 159 million scam ads and 10.9 million scam-linked accounts last year.
– The company is cooperating with global law enforcement, including a recent operation with Thai police, and launching awareness campaigns about trafficked workers forced into scam operations.
Meta is rolling out a new suite of security features designed to proactively protect users from fraudulent activity on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Facebook. This initiative builds on the company’s previous enforcement actions, which included removing 159 million scam ads and taking down 10.9 million accounts linked to criminal networks over the past year. The focus is now shifting toward prevention, aiming to stop scammers before they can reach potential victims.
A key new tool being tested for Facebook is a system that warns users about suspicious friend or follow requests. If a request comes from an account with no mutual friends, a location in a different country, or a very recent join date, a clear alert will appear. This same warning triggers when a user attempts to send a request to a flagged profile. The goal is to disrupt a common tactic where scammers create fake profiles, slowly build a network of mutual connections to appear legitimate, and then begin sending deceptive messages.
On WhatsApp, enhanced security is targeting a specific threat known as device linking fraud. Criminals often trick people into scanning a malicious QR code, sometimes by posing as customer service, which then links the scammer’s device to the victim’s account. The app will now display a prominent warning when it detects a suspicious linking attempt and will show the user the geographic origin of the request.
For Messenger, an existing scam detection system is expanding to more countries. This feature operates in two phases. First, an on-device analysis scans messages from unfamiliar contacts for patterns associated with common frauds, such as fake job offers, investment schemes, or work-from-home scams. If a conversation is flagged, the user receives a warning and can choose to send it to Meta’s servers for a second, more thorough review. This optional step requires users to consent, as it temporarily breaks the message’s end-to-end encryption. Users can also choose to rely solely on the initial on-device alert. The feature can be managed in the app’s Privacy & Safety settings.
Beyond user-facing tools, Meta is intensifying efforts to verify advertisers across its platforms. The company aims to have verified advertisers represent 90% of its total ad revenue by the end of 2026, a significant increase from the current 70%. The remaining portion is intended for lower-risk categories, such as small local businesses, which may be exempt from the most stringent verification requirements.
These platform updates are accompanied by continued law enforcement collaboration. Meta recently participated in a second “Joint Disruption Week” with authorities in multiple countries, including the UK, Canada, and several nations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This followed an operation with the Royal Thai Police that led to 21 arrests and the disabling of over 150,000 accounts connected to scam networks.
Furthermore, Meta has confirmed a partnership with the U.S. Department of State on an awareness campaign titled ‘Trapped in Scam Crime,’ launching in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. This campaign addresses the human trafficking dimension of the issue, targeting individuals who are coerced into working in scam centers after being lured by deceptive job offers.
These security pushes occur as Meta faces ongoing scrutiny regarding fraudulent advertising on its services. The company has publicly disputed certain external estimates of the scale and revenue associated with such ads, and the latest announcement is part of a series of regular updates on its enforcement and safety measures.
(Source: The Next Web)
