Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced the removal of over 3.7 million accounts, pages, and groups from its platforms in a massive global crackdown on scam networks based in West Africa. According to Meta, the scam centres based in Nigeria and Ghana were targeting people mostly in the US and UK using fake profiles that impersonated American and British users.
Results of the operation include: 3.7 million accounts, pages, and groups removed from Facebook and Instagram, 28 individuals arrested (19 in Ghana, 9 in Nigeria), 117 victims rescued who were trafficked and forced to work in scam centers in Ghana, over 30 suspected scam centers identified and 303 electronic devices seized in Ghana, 53 in Nigeria. This is the first time tech companies have joined forces to broadly target scam centres in West Africa, which authorities say are more decentralized than those in Southeast Asia but just as dangerous. FROM Meta official blog
