The Meta crack on WhatsApp scams targets crypto fraud, OTP theft, and fake job offers, boosting security for millions across Asia and Pakistan.
As part of a broad effort to safeguard users against online fraud, Meta disabled almost 6.8 million WhatsApp accounts associated with scam operations in Southeast Asia. The accounts were part of organized groups promoting crypto scams, phony job postings, and phishing attempts.
The move is amid increasing worries about the abuse of messaging apps for financial and identity theft, particularly where there is high WhatsApp usage. Meta’s move is an indicator of a shift in the direction of more aggressive enforcement, leveraging AI and user reports to detect malicious activity.
New safety features empower users.
To enhance user security, WhatsApp has added a number of new features that can help prevent scams from occurring in the first place. One of the most prominent is the Group Chat Safety Overview, which notifies users when they are added to groups they don’t know, presenting metadata and safety guidelines.
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The Silent Exit capability enables users to exit suspicious groups quietly, while future features such as Individual Chat Alerts and Contextual Messaging Warnings are intended to assist users in evaluating unknown contacts more skeptically. These new features demonstrate Meta’s dedication to enabling WhatsApp to be a safer environment for communication.
Pakistan’s Growing Vulnerability
Pakistan has become a breeding ground for WhatsApp-related scam cases, with 233 hijacking cases reported in the year 2025 alone. The scammers impersonate official government personnel or delivery representatives and trick users into providing OTPs, which the former use to hijack accounts.
With more than 52 million active users of WhatsApp in the nation, the magnitude of vulnerability is massive. Meta’s action and new security tools are particularly vital for countries like Pakistan, where digital literacy and scam awareness are still patchy.
AI-Driven Scams and the Need for Vigilance
One of the most concerning trends is the application of AI tools such as ChatGPT to write extremely effective phishing emails. Meta and OpenAI recently broke up a Cambodian fraud operation that utilized AI-generated material to entice victims off WhatsApp onto platforms such as Telegram and TikTok, ultimately luring them into crypto investment scams.
As scams continue to get more advanced, experts are encouraging users to embrace the Pause, Question, Verify model—pausing before acting, questioning the origin of the sender, and checking assertions with verified sources. Being informed and vigilant has never been more important.