Meta said scammers often impersonate successful, single people on social media to scam people for love and money, especially around Valentine's Day.
In a warning on February 13, Meta said scammers often take advantage of holidays or major events to find victims. During Valentine's Day, a scam that is on the rise is romance scams.
Scammers approach victims in a variety of ways, such as through text messages, phishing emails, dating apps, social media posts, discussion forums, and many other platforms. They "pretend to be attractive, single, successful, like soldiers or businessmen," Meta said.
They send mass messages to many different targets to find people to respond. When people respond, scammers try to build trust, saying they are "lonely," and can patiently build a romantic relationship over a long period of time before asking to send money or entice them to invest in fraudulent projects.
Meta said it has participated in dismantling many groups of romance scammers impersonating soldiers and celebrities who approach victims through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and YouTube.
In addition, the company also discovered a network impersonating a matchmaking platform. They promote dating services, promising to introduce rich men and women, or help settle abroad if desired. After that, the victim will be invited to join a chat group, and asked to pay a fee to receive contact information of the person they want to date.
Meta recommends that users be cautious with strange messages, can use the feature to limit receiving messages from strangers, need to check information such as related accounts, the time the account was created, or use an image search tool to verify the authenticity of the avatar photo.
In addition, users need to be wary of requests to provide personal information or transfer money. “Before sending money via gift cards, payment apps, or sharing personal data, talk to a trusted friend or family member to avoid being scammed,” the warning reads.
Meta said that in 2024, the company removed more than 15,000 links containing scam content in Vietnam, and more than 9,000 links impersonating the company’s brand in Singapore. The company also removed more than two million accounts on its platforms linked to scam organizations in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines.
On Messenger, a Safety Notices feature has been rolled out to alert users when chatting with an account that appears suspicious, especially if the account may be from another country.