I remember when Facebook was all the rage. Yes, I am already that old. Everyone was using Facebook, including my high school teachers. Instagram is now mainstream. My friends are on Instagram, my family is on Instagram, and you and your loved ones are probably on Instagram too. If you don’t have a lot of time to scroll through Reels and posts, you might be using WhatsApp as one of your main messaging services, especially if you have a lot of friends who don’t use iPhones. But while these three apps allow us to keep in touch with anyone, follow various cat pages, and even spy on our ex-lovers, we can’t ignore the fact that these apps are crawling with scammers who want to go above and beyond to deceive us. In a newly published blog post, Mehta shared that it has removed over 159 million fraudulent ads and disabled 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with the Crime Fraud Center in 2025. Now, the company is taking that effort even further, announcing three new anti-fraud tools for its apps, as well as an AI-powered way to combat “celebrity baiting” and brand impersonation.
Meta will use AI to fight ‘celebrity bait’ and brand impersonation fraud
Given the ubiquity of AI today, it’s no surprise that Meta is deploying it in the fight against scammers. While traditional detection systems might look at text and images separately, Meta’s AI system can now analyze “multiple signals” such as images, text, and even context at once. This allows us to catch advanced fraud faster. For example, when the system detects that Elon Musk is raising money for a new version of the Tesla Cybertruck, it understands the intent and flags it as a scam. AI also helps Meta detect deceptive links and spoofed domains. That way, if you like something on Amazon while browsing Facebook and tap on the link, you’ll be redirected to Amazon’s official website instead of a copy created by scammers using ChatGPT and WordPress.
Facebook warns about suspicious friend requests
Facebook displays friend request warnings and safety tips. |Image by Meta
Meta is currently testing ways to help Facebook determine whether the account that sent you a friend request, or that you sent a friend request to, is suspicious. This warning appears if your account shows signs of suspicious activity, if you don’t have many mutual friends, or if the user lives in another country. You’ll see alerts that tell you when a user joins Facebook, as well as other details that help you decide whether to accept, reject, or immediately block their profile.
WhatsApp now displays device link fraud warning
A tactic used by scammers on WhatsApp is to trick users into linking their WhatsApp profile to their device. They may try to trick you into scanning a suspicious QR code to access a page, for example, but they’re actually binding your account to one of your devices and stealing all your data in the process.
With the help of a new AI-powered system, Meta now notifies you when it detects potential account takeover attempts. The signal shows the location of the request and indicates that it may be a scam. This will help you think twice before scanning the QR code.
Fraud detection in Messenger rolls out to more countries
Messenger to warn about potential scams in chats | Image by Meta
Why are these new anti-fraud features important? What do I think about all of this?
Those of us who work in technology for a living are usually careful about who we connect with and what links we tap. However, I think you will agree that scammers are getting smarter and that not everyone can vouch for it. Additionally, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all used not only by techies like us, but also by everyday people who are light years away from knowing what the latest Snapdragon chips are or how to protect themselves from scammers on the web.
That’s why it’s my personal opinion that Meta has done a great job introducing these features, making everyday use of the app safer for everyone. So, bravo, meta, bravo!
