“Party Over for ‘Yahoo Boys’ as Meta Shuts Down Their Accounts”

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has initiated a significant crackdown on ‘Yahoo Boys’ by removing thousands of Nigerian accounts involved in financial sextortion scams.

The company reported the removal of accounts, including a coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts, in a document titled ‘Combating Financial Sextortion Scams From Nigeria.’ Meta emphasized that financial sextortion is a serious crime with potentially devastating consequences.

As part of its efforts under the ‘Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy,’ Meta targeted Facebook accounts, pages, and groups operated by ‘Yahoo Boys.’ The term “Yahoo Boys” refers to online scammers who first gained notoriety using the Yahoo email service in the 2000s. These individuals are the modern successors of 419 fraudsters, who previously sought advance fees by promising to make strangers rich through letters and emails.

A Bloomberg Businessweek article in April detailed the rise of financial sextortion in the United States, linking many scams to Nigeria. Meta noted that financial sextortion is a global issue, largely driven by Yahoo Boys—cybercriminals primarily based in Nigeria who engage in various scams.

Meta has deactivated 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria connected to financial sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of about 2,500 accounts associated with approximately 20 individuals. These scammers mainly targeted adult men in the U.S., using fake accounts to hide their identities. Meta employed a combination of new technical signals and thorough investigations by its expert teams to identify and remove these accounts.

“Most of these accounts had already been detected and disabled by our enforcement systems, and this investigation allowed us to remove the remaining accounts and understand more about the techniques being used to improve our automated detection,” the tech giant stated. The company added that while the majority of these scams were unsuccessful and mainly targeted adults, there were attempts to target minors as well. These accounts have been reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

“Since these criminals don’t limit themselves to any one platform, we also share relevant information with other tech companies through the Tech Coalition’s Lantern program, so they can take action too,” Meta emphasized.

Alongside the removal of Instagram accounts, Meta’s actions resulted in the deletion of around 7,200 assets, including 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 Facebook pages, and 5,700 Facebook groups based in Nigeria. These accounts shared tips for scamming, offered to sell scripts and guides, and posted links to photo collections for fake accounts. Meta noted that its systems can identify and block attempts by these deleted groups to reappear.

While these investigations and actions are vital, they are only part of Meta’s broader approach. The company continues to support law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting these crimes, including responding to valid legal requests for information and alerting authorities when someone is at risk of imminent harm, in accordance with its terms of service and applicable law.

This crackdown comes amid increasing scrutiny of Meta’s operations in Nigeria. The Nigerian Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has accused the tech giant of ‘abusive and invasive practices’ against Nigerian users through its WhatsApp platform and is seeking a $220 million fine. Meta plans to appeal this.

Authorities and organizations have recently intensified their efforts to combat cybercrime. Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), recently announced that the agency had secured 500 convictions in cybercrimes.

In July, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) announced the dismantling of a Nigerian network involved in recruiting money mules and laundering funds from online financial fraud victims across Europe. The operation identified more than 25 syndicate members and was part of a global law enforcement effort targeting West African organized crime groups, including Black Axe. This led to hundreds of arrests, the seizure of assets worth $3 million, and the dismantling of multiple criminal networks worldwide.