Meta Removes 150,000 Accounts Tied to Southeast Asia Scam Networks
Tech company Meta has removed more than 150,000 accounts linked to online scam operations in Southeast Asia, as part of a joint effort with authorities from several countries including the Philippines, Thailand, United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore.
The company said the operation also led to 21 arrests by the Royal Thai Police. It follows a previous crackdown in December 2025 that removed around 59,000 accounts, pages, and groups connected to scam networks.
Meta warned that many scams today are run by organized groups operating in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, often targeting people online through fake job offers, messages, or fraudulent ads.
To help users stay safe, the company is introducing new warning alerts on Facebook and WhatsApp when suspicious activity is detected. It is also expanding scam detection tools on Facebook Messenger to flag potentially harmful conversations.
Meta said it removed more than 159 million scam ads in 2025 and took down 10.9 million accounts linked to scam centers on Facebook and Instagram.
Meanwhile, the government of the United Kingdom announced it will launch a new Online Crime Centre next month to strengthen efforts against online fraud and cybercrime worldwide.
Source: https://thehackernews.com/2026/03/meta-disables-150k-accounts-linked-to.html