Meta says it has shut down nearly 7 million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers just in the first half of 2025. To keep users safe, WhatsApp has now launched new AI-powered safety features to combat scams,

WhatsApp says it has taken down 6.8 million accounts linked to scammers targeting people around the world in the first half of this year. Many were tied to scam centres run by organised criminals in South East Asia, who often used forced labour in their operations, the Meta-owned messaging platform says.

This is WhatsApp’s latest effort to tighten the reins on fraud attempts that often start with unsolicited group adds, a tactic used frequently in spammy job scams or cryptocurrency cons.