Meta uses artificial intelligence to fight fraud on WhatsApp and Facebook
Meta has launched new AI-powered anti-fraud tools for its WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger platforms.
The tools are designed to help users of these platforms spot and avoid scammers, the company said in a press release on Wednesday (March 11).
“Across our apps, our systems detect and remove malicious accounts,” Meta said in a press release. “But we know scammers will try to avoid our detection and may not use accounts immediately maliciously. Our team of experts has developed new tools that can alert you to suspicious incidents before you act on them.”
For WhatsApp, the company has added a device link warning that will alert users when a link request may be suspicious. The alert will show the source of the request and warn that it may be a scam. The move is aimed at preventing scams where bad actors try to trick WhatsApp users into linking their accounts to another device.
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For Facebook, Meta is testing new warnings to alert users to suspicious friend requests. These alert users when they send or receive friend requests involving accounts showing signs of suspicious activity.
For Messenger, the company is expanding its advanced fraud detection to more countries. This feature will warn users when their chats with new contacts contain common scam patterns. If Meta's AI scam review uncovers a potential scam, the company will provide information about common scams and recommend actions users can take.
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“We will continue to detect and disrupt sophisticated scams, including working with industry peers and law enforcement around the world,” Meta said in a press release. “We do this because we know criminal networks target people regardless of borders, spanning messaging, dating apps, social media, cryptocurrency and other applications.”
PYMNTS Intelligence and Featurespace collaborated on “The Impact of Financial Fraud on Consumer Financing and Banking Habits,” which found that digital communication channels are some of the most common ways scammers initially contact victims of financial fraud.
Email and social media each accounted for 19% of these initial contacts, second only to phone calls (20%), the report said. Additionally, SMS/text accounts for 9% of initial contacts, while dating apps account for 3%.
According to reports in November, users on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are exposed to approximately 15 billion high-risk scam ads every day. If “organic” fraud, such as unpaid scams in posts, groups and marketplaces, is taken into account, the total number of daily impressions rises to 22 billion.
