Tech giant Meta is stepping up efforts to protect users from scams across its platforms. The company has detected nearly 8 million fraudulent scams in countries like Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and the UAE, using social media, messaging apps, and crypto platforms.
Over 21,000 Facebook pages and accounts were found impersonating customer support, the company said, aiming to steal users personal data. Meta has acted to remove these accounts, reducing identity theft risks and protecting its global community from fraud.
Meta will show an alert on WhatsApp when users attempt to share their screen with strangers during video calls. The warning advises sharing screens only with trusted contacts and cautions against exposing sensitive information such as bank details or verification codes.
Meta is also testing an AI-powered system on Messenger that identifies potential scam messages. Users will receive warnings and guidance, including the option to submit chat history for AI scam review, and actions like blocking or reporting suspicious accounts.
Meta is also running global education campaigns to inform users about scams. In India, the company collaborated with comedy creators to spread awareness in public spaces and educate people about safety features like Two-Factor Authentication and account reporting tools.
Meanwhile, Meta also updated its WhatsApp Business API policy to ban third-party chatbots. This change has forced companies such as Perplexity and ChatGPT to end WhatsApp support, leaving Meta AI as the exclusive AI assistant on the platform.
With these new features, Meta provides more context to help users identify scams. By warning about screen sharing risks and detecting scam messages, the company aims to reduce fraud attempts and enhance account security globally.
