Social media scams/scam compounds/disinfo

How Pig Butchering Scams Work — ProPublica

Thousands have lost huge sums after being lured into fraudulent online investment schemes by seemingly attractive strangers who strike up online conversations with them. Here’s a guide to spotting the telltale signs.

Social media scam commodifies women's sexuality to swindle followers  | CBC News

Women’s names and photos are being used in duplicate accounts to advertise adult content and trick site visitors into providing their credit card information.

Scam Ads Are Flooding Social Media. These Former Meta Staffers Have a Plan

Rob Leathern and Rob Goldman, who both worked at Meta, are launching a new nonprofit that aims to bring transparency to an increasingly opaque, scam-filled social media ecosystem.

Stop Calling Online Scams ‘Pig Butchering,’ Interpol Warns

Experts say the catchall term for online fraud furthers harm against victims and could dissuade people from reporting attempts to bilk them out of their money.

My *wife* just got an offer to purchase *me*. I'd like to think I'm pretty progressive on nearly every social issue, but this is just a bit too far.... yes, yes, I know this is some type of… | Scott Jenson | 13 comments

My *wife* just got an offer to purchase *me*. I'd like to think I'm pretty progressive on nearly every social issue, but this is just a bit too far.... yes, yes, I know this is some type of scam/phishing ploy but a) it's pretty funny and b) it's just so incredibly bizarre. | 13 comments on LinkedIn

Free Our Feeds

Social media is broken: controlled by a handful of billionaires who shape what people see, say, and believe. These platforms profit from division, exploit user data, and lock people into closed systems.

Custodians of the Internet

A revealing and gripping investigation into how social media platforms police what we post online—and the large societal impact of these decisions Most use...

👊💰 We need a revolution in social media business models

Deepti Doshi on the business incentives underlying social media

Meta’s “Trusted Experts” helped me run scam ads on Facebook and Instagram

A Reuters reporter created ads promising unrealistic investment returns and easily placed them on Meta's social media platforms.

How Social Media Rewards Misinformation

A majority of false stories are spread by a small number of frequent users, suggests a new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Gizem Ceylan. But they can be taught to change their ways.

Anatomy of a scam empire: Brains and businesses behind Chen Zhi’s network centred in Cambodia

The Business Times unravels the tangled web of sanctioned collaborators, accused associates and entities, using Handshakes data

What Is a Pig Butchering Scam?

This type of devastating scheme ensnares victims and takes them for all they’re worth—and the threat is only growing.

Meta Faces Lawsuit Over Gambling Scam Ads on Facebook, Instagram - iGamingToday.com - News, insights and Slots review

The Consumer Federation of America has taken Meta to court, accusing the company of misleading users about how it tackles fraudulent advertising on Facebook and Instagram. Filed in Washington, DC, the lawsuit claims Meta’s handling of scam ads, including scam gambling sites, violates local consumer protection laws.  Unlike scams that rely on direct contact with […]

Revealed: Leaked Chats Expose the Daily Life of a Scam Compound’s Enslaved Workforce

A whistleblower trapped inside a “pig butchering” scam compound gave WIRED a vast trove of its internal materials—including 4,200 pages of messages that lay out its operations in unprecedented detail.