Instagram bans 63,000 accounts used in sextortion scams in Nigeria

Instagram owner Meta Tuesday said it banned thousands of accounts in Nigeria for linking to sextortion scams, BBC reported.

These fraudsters usually develop fake personalities, particularly of young females to lure their targets to send them obscene images, which they in turn use to extort their targets. 

Sextortion is damaging psychologically, some victims have been reported to commit suicide due to the pressure from the scammers and societal stigma. 

On Wednesday, Meta shared in a blog post it had removed about 63,000 accounts that sought to engage in these scams. It noted that 'financial sextortion is a horrific crime that can have devastating consequences.'

Also, Meta closed 5,700 Facebook groups that scammers used to share information on how to defraud people. Law enforcement agencies and specialists have been continuously advising the public to be careful with the increasing cases of sextortion on social media platforms. 

It was in May when 16-year-old Murray Dowey from Dunblane took his own life after becoming a victim of these scammers. The BBC also reported that they found guides to sextortion for sale on social media. 

Sextortion scammers often pose as potential dating partners and ask victims to send nude photos in exchange for receiving such images from the scammer. Once the images are received, the scammers demand payment to prevent the images from being posted online. 

Meta was forced to reveal that the account it targeted belongs to a large group of Nigerian cybercriminals called “Yahoo Boys,” which is included in the list of dangerous organisations and individuals prohibited by the company. 

To prevent sextortion, Meta uses several tools, such as automatically pixelating nude images in the conversation and allowing users to mute and report suspicious contacts.