Meta said on Wednesday it had removed about 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria that attempted to engage in financial sexual extortion scams mostly aimed at adult men in the United States.

Nigerian online fraudsters, known as "Yahoo boys", are notorious for scams that range from passing themselves off as people in financial need or Nigerian princes offering an outstanding return on an investment.

Meta said in a statement the removed accounts also included a smaller coordinated network of around 2,500 that were linked to a group of around 20 individuals.
"They targeted primarily adult men in the U.S. and used fake accounts to mask their identities," Meta said.

In sexual extortion, or "sextortion", people are threatened with the release of compromising photos, either real or faked, if they do not pay to stop them. The investigation showed that the majority of the scammers' attempts were unsuccessful and although mostly targeting adults, there were also attempts against minors, which Meta reported to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the U.S.

The company said it had used a combination of new technical signals developed to help identify sex extortion.

Nigeria's scammers became known as "419 scams" after the section of the national penal code that dealt - ineffectively - with fraud.

As economic hardships worsen in the country of more than 200 million people, online scams have grown, with those behind them operating from university dormitories, shanty suburbs or affluent neighbourhoods.

Meta said some accounts were providing tips for conducting scams. "Their efforts included offering to sell scripts and guides to use when scamming people, and sharing links to collections of photos to use when populating fake accounts," it said.

source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/facebook-removes-63000-accounts-nigeria-over-sextortion-scams-2024-07-24/

Those behind them operating from university dormitories, shanty suburbs or affluent neighbourhoods.

Lazy youths

Mark dey Para

Like someone below said, it is a pity naija don turn to what these international companies use to play chess. Today, the include us, tomorrow they remove us. We are not the only country that does these things it's worse even in other countries.

Naija rulling party left two critical domain names to be available for sale even as 2027 is approaching. Let scammers or opposition not buy them:

Tinubu2027.com
APC2027.com

Choi

See record

To be added to Guinness or Gulder

Blackmailing and Dating boys/girls....

be specific... those trying to do yahoo yahoo


Posting like a woman just to engage foolish white

White too no go get sense

63,000 youth in mud

Naija don turn hot-spot for Internet scam in Africa..... Politicians corrupt, d youth sef corrupt.... We say children are d leaders of 2mrw... But see wetin d children dey do...

Nigeria a nation of criminals that equate being a criminal to being smart, very soon the entire online platforms will totally cut off Nigerians to avoid destroying the entire trust in their systems

Our country guys are at it again. It'll soon get worse tho

Yahoo don cast
Awesome

Good riddance

bolabizzle:


Lazy youths

Una do oooooo Lazy youths of social media

Includin my own

Well
Scam no dey pay again
Ill advice those that are into scamming to engage demselves in handwork
We are loosin it broh

Handwork pays,
It really pays 4get,
Payin jobs now are,
POP
PAINTING
SCREEDIN
TRANSPORTATION

government failure is an enterprenuers success
I got a bet shop and im still into production of paint and also paintin and im happily married with kids
Though the economy dey somehow but i can boost of 3square meals
No police man fit intimidate me cos of my source of wealth
Handwork pays
Or u can learn programmin

It is worrisome to know that about 63k or more Nigerians are into full-time fraud.

Thousands of accounts? No be small tin

bolabizzle:


source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/facebook-removes-63000-accounts-nigeria-over-sextortion-scams-2024-07-24/

Dem dey Mushin, Lekki, Isale Eko dey scam oyinbo.

What you get when you have a country where the leadership fails to cater to the basic needs of her citizenry.

Such a sad outcome!

Meta itself na culprit, person no fit open ig in peace. Na unclothedness everywhere.

They will soon remove Nigeria kpatakpata like paypal. Nigeria we hail thee.

Meanwhile
Verydarkman Laments New Minimum Wage. Warns Government to Do Better or Else...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTk0YXXZga0?si=gBOQsnzPUD-4vbd4

Oboy see levels

Nice

hookup format....if you know you know...grindr format...etc..

These boys are really cashing out from people abroad... Their lifestyle so extravagant.... The only fear is, when the so called yahoo stop.

Would they be able to continue feeding their already wide mouth?

Flame333:
See record

To be added to Guinness or Gulder

These things are not limited to Nigeria

Dem plenty for Facebook. Catfish accounts.

Mark finally found a way of getting rid of them.

They usually change their real Nigerian display pictures to that of a beautiful white lady or handsome white man and would be replying nonsense under the post of older white folks.

10 years old facebook for sale. Na dem

I really like that , laziness youth will be crying up and down by now

Instagram use to be a place where you can view nice photos with filter effect till Facebook bought it and turned it into ashewo shoot app.