Meta removes 2.7 million accounts linked to sextortion networks in Nigeria and Ivory Coast

Meta has removed approximately 2.7 million accounts connected to organized sextortion networks operating primarily from Nigeria and Ivory Coast, targeting teenagers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. The company identified coordinated inauthentic behavior including fake profiles, scripted messaging patterns and cryptocurrency payment infrastructure, and shared intelligence with the FBI, Interpol and national law enforcement agencies in affected countries.

Large-scale network takedowns disrupt supply but do not eliminate demand, and offenders reconstitute on alternative platforms or under new identities within days. Guardii's anti-sextortion detection module operates at the conversation layer, identifying coercion, blackmail language and escalation tactics in direct messages as they unfold, regardless of the sender's account history or location. By flagging hostile contact before a child is compromised and surfacing the threat to a parent, school or authority, the system addresses the harm at the moment of attempted exploitation rather than after a network has been mapped and removed.