KEY TAKEAWAYS:
WhatsApp removed 6.8 million scam-linked accounts
Meta adds new tools to help detect scams
Campaigns linked to criminal scam centers in Cambodia
Scams used AI tools, dating apps, and cryptocurrency traps
WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts that were “linked to criminal scam centers” targeting people online around that world, its parent company Meta said this week.
The account deletions, which Meta said took place over the first six months of the year, arrive as part of wider company efforts to crack down on scams. In a Tuesday announcement, Meta said it was also rolling new tools on WhatsApp to help people spot scams — including a new safety overview that the platform will show when someone who is not in a user’s contacts adds them to a group, as well as o