"Online scams have become significantly more sophisticated and industrialized in recent years, with criminal networks often based in Southeast Asia in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos running what amount to full-scale business operations. These operations cause real harm - they upend lives, destroy trust, and are deliberately designed to avoid detection and disruption."
"Meta said it removed over 159 million scam ads for violating its policies in 2025, and that it took down 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram associated with criminal scam centers. In addition, the company has announced plans to expand advertiser verification in an attempt to bolster transparency and curtail efforts by bad actors to misrepresent advertiser identity."
Meta disabled over 150,000 accounts associated with scam centers in Southeast Asia in coordination with authorities from 11 countries, leading to 21 arrests by Thai police. This action expanded upon a December 2025 pilot that removed 59,000 accounts and generated six arrest warrants. Criminal networks operating from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos run sophisticated, industrialized scam operations causing significant harm. Meta introduced new protective measures including suspicious account warnings on Facebook, alerts for suspicious WhatsApp device linking requests, and expanded AI-powered scam detection on Messenger. In 2025, Meta removed 159 million scam ads and took down 10.9 million accounts associated with criminal scam centers, while announcing plans to expand advertiser verification.
Read at The Hacker News
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