However, an alarming trend is emerging: fraudsters are increasingly turning to encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram to trap their victims.
Metaplatforms: A Persistent Hotbed of Fraud
Despite efforts to combat fraud, metaplatforms continue to dominate the scam landscape. Facebook remains the most used platform by fraudsters, with 28% of reported cases. However, WhatsApp and Telegram are gaining in importance, representing 21% and 18% of reported fraud, respectively. This development highlights the ability of criminals to adapt their tactics to exploit the most popular and least monitored platforms.
But with the rise of online scams in recent months, the group has implemented numerous tools to combat this phenomenon. Indeed, to protect its users against these abuses, Meta offers a number of features on its applications, including:
- On WhatsApp: When an unknown person sends a message to a user or adds them to a group, a contextual card is now displayed to provide more information about this contact or group.
- On Instagram: If an account suspected of potentially fraudulent activity asks to follow a user, a notification reminds them to remain vigilant against potentially suspicious interactions.
- On Marketplace: Warnings now alert users if Meta detects messages corresponding to classic scam patterns.
Faced with this problem, which affects the entire industry, Meta is working with law enforcement to remove reported accounts via dedicated channels. It should be noted that in 2024 alone, the group deleted more than 2 million accounts linked to fraud centers located in Burma, Laos, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines.
Furthermore, Meta announced on March 5 the deployment of facial recognition for celebrities in France, thus strengthening protection against any attempts at identity theft for public figures and celebrities from the EU, UK, and South Korea directly in their settings. This technology also allows users to recover their account when it has been compromised.
The rise of encrypted messaging in fraud
Encrypted messaging applications, often perceived as secure, are increasingly used by fraudsters. WhatsApp and Telegram now account for more than a third of reported scams, with cases linked to Telegram (+121%) and WhatsApp (+67%) increasing dramatically in the second half of 2024. This worrying trend highlights the need for these platforms to strengthen their security measures to protect their users.
Purchase scams remain the majority, but a new trend is emerging with ticket fraud, which particularly targets younger generations. People aged 17-24 and 25-34 represent the vast majority of reported cases, highlighting the vulnerability of these groups to new forms of fraud.
Revolut: a strong commitment against fraud
Revolut calls on social media platforms to take decisive action to combat fraud, and demands that these platforms commit to helping reimburse victims of scams that originated on their services.
In 2024, Revolut prevented more than €694 million in potential fraud targeting its customers. The company continues to enhance its security features, including in-app calls to detect impersonation scams and AI-powered real-time fraud detection systems.
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