Meta takes down over 3.7 million scam-linked 'shell' pages and accounts, some tied to Singapore

Meta has taken action against more than 3.7 million entities on Facebook and Instagram this year, including some tied to Singapore-based scams.

The tech company said in a statement on Wednesday (Sept 23) that it collaborated closely with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and based on the information shared, further investigated interconnected accounts, pages and entities associated with the same scam networks.

More than 20,000 accounts, pages, and content were referred to Meta by SPF between January and June this year. 

They include investment scams perpetuated by impersonating social media influencers, concert ticket scams, and scams involving price offers on food items and other goods.

Meta said it built on information provided by SPF and conducted three waves of enforcement action.

In the first six months of the year, Meta proactively removed or restricted more than 113,000 entities and pages connected to fraud and scams, over five times the number flagged by SPF.

Anticipating a "typical seasonal spike in scam activity" during the June school holidays, Meta and SPF enhanced enforcement and intercepted more than 33,600 entities.

'Newer scam vector'

In July, Meta's specialist investigators conducted an in-depth investigation and identified 3.64 million scam-linked "shell pages".

"These 'shell pages' which appear empty or harmless on the surface but are pre-built infrastructure ready to be activated for scam campaigns at a moment's notice were removed before they could be weaponised," the company added.

Meta, in an article on its website, said these "shell pages" are a "newer scam vector". It is pursuing further disruptions against this type of scam, it added.

Daryl Poon, Meta APAC's director of law enforcement outreach said the company's effective collaboration with SPF means "proactively going after the infrastructure" behind scams.

Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Wong, Commander of the Cyber Command said the recent operation with Meta cut off scammers' ability to defraud Singaporeans.

"SPF will work with Meta and other online service providers to expand data sharing and strengthen scam disruption efforts," he said.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com