Meta, the owner of the messaging platform WhatsApp, disclosed on Tuesday that it has introduced new safety features to protect users against scams on the platform, adding that in the first half of this year, it deleted over 6.8 million accounts linked to scams.
The company stated that many of the scams involved fake investment opportunities or get-rich-quick Ponzi schemes.
According to the company, “There is always a catch, and it should be a red flag for everyone: you have to pay upfront to get promised returns or earnings."
Meta said most of the banned scam accounts were from Southeast Asia, adding that it collaborated with OpenAI to disrupt a scam syndicate located in Cambodia.
The new safety features to protect users against scams include an alert when users are added to a WhatsApp group by someone not in their contact list; users can review group details and decide to exit or remain, and notifications from the group will remain muted until the user opts to stay in the group.
The company further stated that it was exploring several ways to protect users of the messaging platform from fraudsters.
