U.S. Senators Ask Zuckerberg About Crypto Scams on Meta Apps

In Brief

• US senators have written Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to enquire about how the platform fights crypto scams.
• Meta said the scams are in violation of its company policies.
• Crypto scams are increasingly rampant on social media.

The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations building standards of transparency.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would need to explain how the social media platforms owned by the company are fighting crypto scams after some Democratic senators raised the issue.

According to a report by Washington Post, Democrats in the US Senate want Meta to provide more information on how it handles cryptocurrency frauds and claim its platforms are breeding grounds for such scams.

The Senators relied on a Federal Trade Commission report that most scammers, especially those looking to take advantage of cryptocurrencies, now focus on social media to get their victims.

FTC identified crypto as the most common form of payment for social media scams. Even more noteworthy is that 3 of the top 4 social platforms for these scams were owned by Meta.

32% of crypto scam reports on social media mentioned Instagram, 26% mentioned Facebook, and 9% mentioned WhatsApp.

The reports necessitated the letter written by the seven senators led by Senator Robert Mendez asking Meta to provide information on its policies regarding crypto scams, whether it actively detects these frauds, and how it assists the victims and law enforcement.

Other senators who signed the letter are Democrat Sens. Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, Dianne Feinstein, Cory Booker, and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders. Meta has to respond by October 24.

The letter also asked whether Meta provides “warnings or educational material regarding crypto scams in languages other than English.”

Meta Spokesperson Andy Stone has said that the scams breach the company’s policy and harm its business. Thus, it invests “substantial resources to detect and prevent scams.”

Meta’s Crypto Scam Fights Under Scrutiny
This is not the first time that Meta will be coming under scrutiny on how it prevents these scams. Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest is suing the company over crypto scams.

He filed a criminal action saying that Meta allowed the spread of crypto scams on Facebook despite efforts on his part to stop it.

Several crypto scams on the platform had used Forrest’s name to defraud victims, and the billionaire claimed that Facebook did not prevent this.

Crypto Scams on Social Media
However, Meta platforms aren’t the only places where crypto scams are rampant. There have also been several complaints about crypto scams and bots on Twitter.

Recently, cybercriminals were able to carry out a crypto scam by streaming a parallel Apple event video promoting fake crypto investments on YouTube.

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Oluwapelumi Adejumobelieves Bitcoin and blockchain technology have the potential to change the world for the better. He is an avid reader and began writing about crypto in 2020.