Extortion Scams Target Influencers on Meta Platforms. Content creators are facing a new wave of extortion threats on Meta-owned platforms like Facebook and Instagram. According to a recent Bloomberg report, scammers are abusing Meta’s rights management tool, designed to protect creators’ work, to issue false copyright takedowns and demand payments to prevent future strikes.
The report highlights a troubling trend where influencers, particularly in the Middle East, have had their content removed over fictitious copyright claims. When contacting the purported rights holders, creators are met with extortion demands.
One influencer from Iraq revealed that a scammer offered to restore his content for $3,000 and proposed a monthly payment of $1,000 or an annual fee of $7,000 to prevent further takedowns.
This fraudulent practice is not new, but scammers have become more sophisticated. Instead of traditional phishing emails, they are now gaining access to Meta’s rights manager tool through black markets. This tool requires Meta’s approval, making its misuse more impactful as it directly enforces takedowns, thereby making extortion simpler.
False copyright claims are a longstanding issue across social media platforms. Platforms like YouTube have also seen significant abuse of their copyright management tools.
In a notable case reported in 2022, two scammers exploited YouTube’s Content ID system to claim over $23 million in royalties for songs they had no rights to.
As scammers continue to find success with these schemes, the need for robust security measures within rights management tools becomes increasingly urgent. Social media platforms must improve their ability to detect and prevent such fraudulent activities to protect content creators from ongoing extortion.
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