Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger will protect against suspicious friend requests and chats with fraudulent content

Meta has announced the launch of a series of tools in Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp applications to help users defend themselves against scams against suspicious friend request attempts and chats with fraudulent content.

The company continues its fight against this type of cyberattacks, since at the end of February it announced that it would take legal action against several fraudulent advertisers in Brazil and China who used ‘celebrity bait’, in which they used manipulated images of celebrities to deceive victims.

“Criminals are increasingly using more sophisticated methods to scam people on our platforms and on the Internet. That’s why we’re announcing new investments in advanced artificial intelligence, tools for people to spot and avoid scammers, and collaborations with law enforcement and companies in the sector for offline law enforcement,” Meta said in a statement on its website.

The company’s security roadmap begins with an increase in investment in tools artificial intelligence (AI) to detect fraudulent activity, such as celebrity impersonation, or to take proactive measures against content that redirects to Fraudulent web pages that imitate the design of legitimate onesthus protecting brands against impersonations.

Beyond investing in artificial intelligence, Meta is testing sending Facebook alerts for suspicious friend requests, so that when users receive a request from an account that shows signs of misleading activity, without any mutual friends or a different country, a notice will appear to reaffirm the request, as well as options to report or block the requesting account.

On the other hand, in Whatsapp They have taken measures against QR codes to link the account with another device. To do this, the application will send a notice when you detect that the link could be suspicious. Specifically, the alert will indicate where the request comes from and will allow the user to confirm access or deny it.

Regarding MessengerMeta will also warn about new chats with potentially fraudulent contentsuch as job offers. Within the alert message, it will ask users if they want the AI ​​to review the content of the conversation and analyze it to later report it if it is finally a fraud.

In addition to tools for each platform, Meta has a identity verification for advertisers, in which they have to demonstrate if they have a history of non-compliance with policies or if the type of advertising they work with is likely to end in fraud.

The company has announced that it is expanding this verification to ensure that 90 percent of advertising revenue comes from verified advertisers, while the remaining 10 percent comes from low-risk companies.

Meta has highlighted that In 2025 they removed more than 159 million fraudulent ads for violating company policies, as well as 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram associated with cybercriminals.