Meta Removes Instagram Accounts: Sextortion is a cybercrime or fraud. In the internet world, we easily start talking to a stranger. One does not know when this acquaintance which started through chatting will reach to give each other mobile numbers. Then gradually calls, then video calls start and then sometimes it turns into feelings like love and attraction. Later, it is fueled by the exchange of nude images or strange behavior through video calls.
Decision to close 63 thousand Instagram accounts :
The related tech company Meta has taken a decision on Wednesday and as many as 63 thousand Instagram accounts have been locked (removed) by Meta. These cases are related to the ongoing scam in the African country of Nigeria. Therefore, the authorities of the West African country had imposed a fine of 220 dollars on Meta Company.
The Instagram account removed by the Meta company includes 2,500 profiles and 20 groups of people. Some 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 Facebook pages and 5,700 Facebook groups have been removed. The group used to threaten individuals into sending lewd photos, also demanding money, and conspiring to make the photos public if the victim did not pay. Also in this case they targeted adult men in the US and used fake accounts to hide their identities. When the group failed to target adults, they began targeting teenagers, Meta said in a statement.
Between October 2021 and March 2023, 1,300 Homeland Security inspection reports have surfaced; which includes sexual abuse. Of these, 12,600 were mostly children (adolescents); Who lived in America. This case has forced 20 people to commit suicide.
The FBI said in a statement in January that many sextortion perpetrators are from West African countries such as Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, or Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines. Two men were arrested in Nigeria in connection with this. Because – an Australian teenager was threatened and tried to coerce him into releasing ‘personal photos of the boy’ if he didn’t pay them $500 ($330). Boy commits suicide after being threatened by ‘sextortion’ scam suspects, Australian police say.
Meta is working on new features:
To combat rising crime, Meta announced in April that it is testing an AI-generated ‘nude protection’ feature to protect teenagers. This feature works to protect teenagers from such activities on Instagram. META is working with law enforcement agencies to prevent such crimes.
