Meta warns women about fraudsters posing as successful people and asking for money
On the eve of Valentine's Day, Meta urges users to be careful of romantic scams. In 2025, it has already deleted more than 116,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to such schemes.
Here's What We Know
For comparison, in 2024, the number of blocked accounts exceeded 408,000.
Romance scams are not a new phenomenon. Scammers create fake profiles, posing as attractive and successful people to establish a trusting relationship. They often use images of the US military or celebrities, claiming to be looking for love. After establishing contact on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, they ask for money - in the form of gift cards, cryptocurrency or other transfers.
Meta is actively fighting fraud, in particular, by reintroducing facial recognition technology to detect fake accounts. However, according to David Agranovich, director of threat management, fraudsters are constantly improving their methods.
The Meta logo on a smartphone. Illustration: Getty Images
Researchers note that thanks to artificial intelligence, fraudsters can create even more realistic fake profiles.
Some free tools allow you to change your face in real time during video calls, and deep fakes can imitate voice and phone conversations without the participation of a real person.
Meta recently started the first testing of advertising on Threads, according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. The Threads platform previously did not contain adverts, unlike Facebook and Instagram.
Source: Meta
