On March 11, Meta announced new anti-scam features for WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger. Previously, a Reuters report citing internal Meta documents said about 10% of the company’s 2024 revenue came from scam and illegal ads. Users were exposed to an estimated 15 billion scam ads each day.
What this means for Indian Users: These tools do not assist users who have already lost money to scams on Meta platforms, as there is currently no redressal mechanism. The new features aim to help prevent scams, and Facebook has not yet launched some of them, such as friend request alerts.
What Meta announced
- WhatsApp: Alerts users to suspicious device-linking requests. Scammers exploit the multi-device feature by persuading users to scan a QR code or share a link code, which grants account access. MHA’s I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre) identified this tactic in a November 2025 advisory, before Meta released a dedicated tool.
- Facebook: Testing warnings on suspicious friend requests and flags accounts with few mutual friends or mismatched location profiles. This feature remains in testing and has not yet gone live.
- Messenger: Rolling out AI-based scam detection to more countries. It flags suspicious chat patterns, such as fake job offers, and asks users to share recent messages for an AI review.
- AI tools: Used to detect celebrity and brand impersonation. These tools analyze fake fan sentiment, misleading bios, and deceptive links that redirect users to fake websites.
- Advertiser verification: Meta aims to have verified advertisers account for 90% of ad revenue by the end of 2026, up from 70% today.
- “Scam se Bacho”: The third edition of this campaign, which aims to raise public awareness on scam prevention in collaboration with I4C and SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
India numbers (2025)
- Banned 12.1 million pieces of ad content for fraud, scam and deceptive practices; 93% removed proactively.
- Took down 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram linked to criminal scam centres.
- Disabled 150,000 accounts linked to Southeast Asia scam networks; contributed to 21 arrests by the Royal Thai Police.
- Removed 159 million scam ads globally; 92% proactively.
What the numbers don’t tell you: Meta’s numbers are self-reported and not compared to previous years, making it unclear whether there has been progress. This is not Meta’s first such announcement—similar commitments were made in October 2025.
What Meta doesn’t address
- No user redressal: There is no mention of measures for users who have already lost money to scams on Meta platforms.
- Privacy implications of AI chat scanning: Messenger asks users to share chat messages for AI review, while Meta has not specified what happens to that data.
- Facebook alerts still in testing: Not yet live.
- Scam se Bacho partnership limited to awareness: With no mention of data sharing or takedown coordination with Indian…
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