Meta Removes 6.8M+ WhatsApp Accounts in Major Crackdown on Southeast Asian Crypto Scams

In the largest single-action enforcement this year, Meta removed over 6.8 million WhatsApp accounts linked to “pig butchering” cryptocurrency scams orchestrated by organized crime groups primarily in Southeast Asia.

Enforcement Action and New Security Alerts

The global effort involved identifying and shutting down accounts used by scammers before fully operationalizing their schemes. Specificity points towards criminal networks operating from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand, where authorities report significant fraud operations targeting international victims.

To help users avoid these scams, Meta is implementing new features on WhatsApp. These include alerts for joining groups via unknown contacts and tools to easily report suspicious activity, aiming to identify potential fraud earlier in the process.

Targeting “Pig Butchering” Scams

“Pig butchering,” a term for a specific type of investment scam, typically involves a lengthy process: an initial contact (often unsolicited) cultivates user trust, followed by the gradual transfer of conversations to encrypted channels. Ultimately, scammers convince victims to deposit money, usually cryptocurrency, into fraudulent schemes. By the time victims fully grasp what transpired, their funds are inaccessible.

Meta highlighted an example of such a dismantling, detailing how internal efforts recently led to disrupting a Cambodian group running a rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme. The scammers reportedly utilized AI tools like ChatGPT for instructions to victims.

Economic Incentive Conundrum

Earlier reports noted Meta’s struggle against scams, significantly, due to the fundamental misalignment of incentives between safety measures and profitability. Meta often derives substantial ad revenue from scammy content that goes viral. Security expert Greg Williamson pointedly noted this conflict: Meta must prevent abuse, “but their incentives often work against proactive action.”

This points to a pressing issue: When platforms monetize scam content while bombarding advertising to victims after they are targeted on the platforms, it creates a powerful disincentive to invest heavily in prevention. Fraud is monetized while victimhood is noted only sporadically.