Organized, on an industrial scale scams causing a multi-billion dollar crisis around the world, Meta on Wednesday announced fresh account protections aimed at flagging users of potentially suspicious activity at the earliest possible stage of interaction with a scam. The company also shared details of recent cooperation with Thai law enforcement agencies, which led to 21 arrests and Meta blocked over 150,000 user accounts linked to fraud in Southeast Asia.
The disruptive operation – a joint effort between the Royal Thai Police, the FBI, the UK National Crime Agency, the Australian Federal Police and other law enforcement agencies – focused on alleged fraudsters who targeted victims in multiple countries, including the US and UK, as well as many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Meta account security, which Meta debuted on Wednesday, includes an extension for Messenger fraud detection features for more users around the world, introducing warnings for potentially suspicious activity when a user initiates a fresh connection to a WhatsApp device, and testing fresh Facebook alerts to flag potentially suspicious friend requests.
“Transnational fraud syndicates continue to use digital platforms and operate across multiple jurisdictions,” Gregory Kang, deputy commissioner of the Singapore Police Force, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Joint activities like this show how important close cooperation between law enforcement and industry partners is.”
Major social media and messaging platforms are a key digital meeting place where online fraudsters – often forced laborers – and victims from around the world can cross paths. Professional “pig slaughter” investment fraud has spread across Southeast Asia and spread across the globe, creating a more urgent need than ever to block and stop fraudulent activity on consumer platforms.
Meta began speaking publicly about its fraud-focused work in overdue 2024. That same year, the company said it had removed more than 2 million fraud-related accounts.
On Wednesday, the company said it removed 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts “linked to fraud hotspots” in 2025 and removed more than 159 million fraudulent ads across all categories. Meta is increasingly criticized for not being proactive enough against fraud on its platforms Reuters reports in December that billions of fraudulent ads appear every day, and Meta’s internal estimates predict that as much as 10 percent of its revenue could come from fraudulent ads. A company spokesman at the time disputed these numbers. Law enforcement agencies in multiple regions – including Thai and Cambodian police – have carried out a series of operations in recent months to intervene in fraud centers, making dozens of arrests and seizing funds. And the repression is not restricted to Southeast Asia. In February, for example, Meta said yes provided support for the Nigerian Police and the UK’s National Crime Agency to bust an alleged fraud center in Nigeria.
On Wednesday, Meta announced other actions to combat fraud and abuse on its platforms. The company said it is further expanding advertiser verification, with a goal to ensure that 90 percent of ad revenue comes from verified advertisers by the end of 2026, which would be a significant raise from the current 70 percent. The goal, Meta says, is for the last 10 percent to go to compact, local businesses and other low-resource philanthropic entities that just want to run a few ads.
The company also said its anti-fraud specialists have created artificial intelligence detection systems that support flag more situations where fraudsters may be impersonating brands, celebrities or other public figures. These systems are also designed to capture more “deceptive links” that can be used to trick targets into visiting malicious websites.
The fraud ecosystem and industry around the world has grown and matured to the point that no single platform or government can solve the problem. But in recent years, experts have consistently told WIRED that Meta platforms are a key battleground where more detections and protections could change the barrier to entry for fraudsters trying to reach fresh victims.
As Chris Sonderby, Meta’s vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement Wednesday, “We will continue to invest in technology and partnerships to stay ahead of these adversaries.”