Meta announced that it has removed over 2 million accounts this year that attempted to deceive internet users worldwide into paying for fake investment schemes, highlighting a surge in online criminal activity.
These accounts were linked to so-called “pig butchering” scams, where criminal organizations create fake personas—often posing as attractive singles or trusted public figures—to build trust with users and ultimately persuade them to invest in fraudulent schemes.
“Every day, criminals target people globally using text messages, dating apps, social media, and emails in these so-called ‘pig butchering’ schemes, luring them into fraudulent investments,” the company stated in a press release.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, scam centers running these schemes often recruited workers with “too-good-to-be-true” job offers, later forcing them to work as online fraudsters under the threat of physical violence, according to Meta’s report.
The accounts deactivated by Meta were tied to scam operations based in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines.
Globally, by the end of 2023, approximately 300,000 people had been coerced into working for criminal operations that defrauded victims of an estimated $64 billion, according to data from the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent research organization established by Congress.
These fraudulent schemes often target large audiences through mass text messages or generic posts. If a victim responds, another group of scammers takes over, building trust over time to persuade the victim to send money or invest.
According to Meta, scammers frequently find their victims through dating apps, text messages, emails, or social media accounts, eventually steering the conversations to cryptocurrency apps or fraudulent websites disguised as investment platforms.
“Victims may initially be allowed to withdraw small amounts to build trust, but once they attempt to recover their full ‘investment’ or run out of funds to send, the scammers—usually based overseas—disappear with all the money,” Meta explained in its press release.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Yandex Browser’s AI technology has helped prevent over 350 million attempts to access fraudulent websites in just six months. The browser’s embedded neural network has significantly improved its ability to identify threats in real-time, particularly phishing sites.
