Meta’s anti-scam initiative "it’s just not enough"says Revolut

This article was originally published in English

Tech giant Meta needs to go further to protect its users from online scamsas stated by the financial technology company Revolut. The social networks of Meta, Facebook, and the messaging platform WhatsApp represent the biggest sources of fraud reported to Revolut, according to figures published this Thursday by the online bank.

Revolut maintains that Meta should monitor its own sites for potentially fraudulent content, and share reimbursement to victims of the advertisements from which it benefited, both in the EU and in the United Kingdom.

“A commitment to share data, although necessary, simply it’s not enough“Woody Malouf, head of Financial Crimes at Revolut, said in a statement, adding: “Social media platforms not only they continue to allow fraud…the problem is as serious today as it was last year.”

The attack comes a day after Meta’s British subsidiary announced a exchange of information with banks such as NatWest and Metro, which, according to the technology company, will allow action against thousands of accounts managed by scammers.

“We will only defeat these criminals if we work together and we share information related to scams,” Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta’s global head of anti-fraud, said Wednesday, adding that information from banks helped train systems to tackle illegal activity.

Revolut figures, which cover most of the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland, suggest that shopping scams – ads from fake websites that request payment but never deliver the goods – remain the biggest source of fraud reported.

Employment fraud – such as fake job adverts seeking upfront payments for training or administration costs – has also skyrocketed to 18% of all scams, according to Revolut.

In Brussels, MEPs have pushed for social media companies to take over more responsibility for ads fraudulent, particularly when scammers ask for money by posing as a family member, bank or government agency. Member States are studying these amendments to the EU regulations on payment services.

A Meta spokesperson told ‘Euronews’ that “fraud is a problem that spans multiple sectors and can only be addressed working collaboratively“.”Our Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) pilot program is designed so that banks share information so we can work together to protect people who use our respective services,” the spokesperson said, adding: “We encourage banks, including Revolut, to join this effort.”