Meta Axes 6.8M WhatsApp Accounts in Global Crackdown on Pig Butchering Scams
Meta just nuked 6.8 million WhatsApp accounts—and the pig-butchering scammers behind them—in one surgical strike. Here’s why it matters.
The scam that won’t die (but just got weaker)
Pig butchering—where fraudsters 'fatten' victims with fake crypto gains before stealing everything—has exploded across messaging platforms. Meta’s purge hits these operations where it hurts: their user base.
Why WhatsApp?
End-to-end encryption makes it a scammer favorite. But Meta’s AI is now flagging suspicious patterns faster than a degen aping into a memecoin.
The bottom line
While crypto’s busy building, old-school grifts still drain more wallets than failed smart contracts. At least someone’s cleaning house—even if it’s the Web2 giants.
Growing Crypto Scam Problem
Many of these scams began on messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Telegram.
Meta cited one recent case in which it collaborated with OpenAI to disrupt a Cambodian group running a rent-a-scooter pyramid scheme. The scammers reportedly used ChatGPT to craft instructions for victims and recruited people with fake offers of money in exchange for social media engagement.
Authorities globally have ramped up warnings in recent months, urging users to enable two-step verification on WhatsApp and to be suspicious of any odd messages or unexpected group invites.
Still, critics argue that platforms like Meta need to take stronger, more systemic action.
In a blog last month, senior vice president fraud reduction at the Banking Policy Institute, Greg Williamson said that the incentives for social media giants to crack down on scammers are misaligned.
"To effectively combat scams, tech platforms must prioritize customer protection. They are in a strong position to prevent abuse, but their incentives often work against proactive action," he wrote.
He noted that social media platforms earn ad revenue from scam content, and highlighted one ongoing case where Meta is accused of allowing over 230,000 scam ads to run on its platforms featuring a deepfake of Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest.
Deepfakes featuring everyone from Elon Musk to King Charles III have also been shared on social media to entice people into making investments. Those who are impersonated in these deceptive ads have reported struggling to get Meta to take them down.
Scammers purchase advertising from the likes of Meta to help spread their posts.
"These companies have the capability, but not the financial incentive, to prevent fraud at the source," Williamson added.
