With online scams all the more prevalent nowadays due to rather-convincing AI and software, it’s been a bit harder for some users to stay safe when online, especially on public social media platforms. That being said, Meta recently announced that it’s rolling out new AI-based anti-scam tools for WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger users, which it says is designed to keep scammers at bay while maintaining your online privacy and security.
For WhatsApp, users will now get an alert when it suspects that another user is trying to link your account to their device. The alerts will display where a request is coming from, in addition to warnings that it might be a scammer looking to gain access to your account. For facebook, Meta says that it’s testing a new warning system which will warn users of suspicious friend requests, particularly from accounts that show signs of suspicious activity.
As for users on Messenger, Meta’s advanced scam detection will be able to send users warnings should they receive common scam messages such as suspicious job offers for example, including an options to share recent chat messages for an AI scam review, as well as suggested actions that a user can proceed with like reporting and blocking the suspicious account.
Meta adds that its AI tools allow it to detect other AI software that impersonates public figures or brands, and even proactively detect when users are redirected to malicious webpages masquerading as legitimate websites.
