The first of its type, Meta (Facebook) and a financial services firm filed a joint action against two Nigerians who used phishing assaults to fool people online and acquire access to their online financial accounts.
Meta (Facebook) has previously taken multiple enforcement actions against the defendants, including blocking impersonating domains on its services, deactivating Facebook and Instagram accounts, and delivering a stop and desist letter.
Meta and a financial services firm filed a combined action against two Nigerian-based persons engaging in international financial frauds through online impersonation as part of our continuous efforts to enforce our Terms and safeguard people from abuse.
Impersonation frauds are a big problem, and this measure is a significant step forward in cross-industry cooperation to combat them. Meta filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Facebook and Instagram's terms and policies were violated.
The defendants engaged in phishing assaults between March 2020 and October 2021, luring consumers to phishing websites via Facebook and Instagram with the purpose of compromising their financial services accounts for profit. The defendants used a network of computers to control over 800 impersonated Facebook and Instagram profiles and bypass technical enforcement measures in order to hide their operations.
Since June 2020, Meta has taken many previous enforcement steps against the defendants, including blocking impersonating domains on its services, deactivating Facebook and Instagram accounts, and delivering stop and desist letters.
Online impersonation is forbidden across all Meta technologies, and we'll keep taking steps to protect those who utilise them. The disruption of this exploitation, as well as Meta's broader efforts to prevent online impersonation, need cross-industry collaboration. This action sends a strong message to those who want to engage in similar conduct that it will not be permitted.
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