In a significant move to combat the growing threat of online fraud, Meta has taken decisive action against scam activity on WhatsApp. As part of its broader effort to enhance platform safety, the tech company has removed millions of suspicious accounts and introduced new features designed to protect users from deception.

Scam groups use fake investments, crypto fraud, and social media manipulation to deceive victims across platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and TikTok.

Many of the accounts were linked to criminal groups operating in South East Asia, the social media giant said.

Russia plans to restrict some calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, saying the apps don't cooperate with the government to stop "deceit and fraud."

NEW YORK (AP) — WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts that were “linked to criminal scam centers” targeting people online around that world, its parent company Meta said this week.

Meta has announced some new measures to protect WhatsApp users from scam activity, including improved insight into group requests, and updated alerts for individual chat requests. First off, on group messaging.

Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in the first half of this year and is ramping up safeguards against such schemes.WhatsApp detected and banned more than 6.

WhatsApp accused Moscow of trying to block millions of Russians from accessing secure communication after calls on the messaging app were restricted, as Russia promotes home-grown social media platforms and seeks greater control over the country's internet space.

The announcement was made at Meta’s Conversations conference in Miami. The new updates aim to allow businesses to have ads, customer chat, and support on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram all in ...

WhatsApp banned more than 6.8 million accounts linked to scam operations in the first half of this year, its parent company Meta said in a statement Tuesday. “As part of our ongoing proactive work to protect people from scams, WhatsApp detected and banned over 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers,” the company said.

The optional new feature currently in WhatsApp beta claims to make messaging easier by providing AI-powered text suggestions and rephrasing.