Meta actively combats WhatsApp fraudsters
In a bid to enhance user safety, WhatsApp and Meta have been taking proactive steps to combat scams on their platforms. In the first half of 2025, WhatsApp banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to organized scam operations, primarily targeting criminal centers in Southeast Asia[1][2].
The crackdown involves several key measures:
Advanced Detection and Proactive Enforcement
WhatsApp employs machine learning algorithms and behavioral pattern recognition to identify and remove malicious accounts before scammers can operate fully. The algorithms track scam operations that move victims across various channels such as SMS, social media APIs, cryptocurrency exchanges, and messaging platforms to evade detection[1][2].
New Safety Features
To provide users with more context and control, WhatsApp is introducing new safety features. These include a safety overview for groups, which notifies users when someone not in their contacts adds them to a new group chat, offering information about the group and tips to stay safe. Notifications are muted until the user confirms they want to remain in the group[4][5].
Furthermore, the platform is testing alerts that warn users before they start chatting with people not in their contact list, giving more context to avoid engaging with potential scammers[3][5].
Collaborations and Intelligence Sharing
Meta’s threat intelligence teams collaborate cross-platform and have worked with OpenAI to dismantle scam operations. For instance, a Cambodian scam center that exploited ChatGPT APIs to generate personalized scam messages for WhatsApp users was successfully disrupted[1][2][3].
User Education
WhatsApp, in partnership with internet safety experts, advises users to pause, question, and verify when interacting with unknown contacts, emphasizing caution about requests for money, PINs, or sensitive information[3].
Meta and WhatsApp are committed to making scams easier to detect and harder to execute, thereby improving safety across their platforms[1][3][4]. With the introduction of new safety features, increased user education, and strategic collaborations, the fight against scams continues.
[1] Meta Blog Post: https://about.fb.com/news/2025/05/combatting-scams-on-whatsapp/ [2] OpenAI Blog Post: https://openai.com/blog/2025/05/whatsapp-scam-disruption/ [3] WhatsApp Safety Guide: https://www.whatsapp.com/safety/ [4] Meta Safety Centre: https://www.facebook.com/safety/ [5] OpenAI Safety Policy: https://openai.com/safety/
- Technology and machine learning algorithms are being used proactively by WhatsApp to detect and remove malicious accounts, as part of their efforts to enhance cybersecurity and combat scams in the realm of general-news and crime-and-justice.
- In a bid to empower users, WhatsApp is introducing new safety features and collaborating with internet safety experts to educate users about the importance of 'pause, question, and verify' when interacting with unknown contacts, thus aiming to reduce vulnerability to scams in the technology sector.
