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Forty-one state attorneys general wrote a letter to Goal‘s top attorney said Wednesday that complaints are skyrocketing across the United States about Facebook and instagram stolen user accounts and declare “immediate action” necessary to mitigate the ongoing threat.
Coalition of top law enforcement officials, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, says “dramatic and persistent increase” in account takeover complaints amounts to a “substantial drain” on resources government, as many stolen accounts are also linked to finances. crimes, some of which supposedly directly benefit Meta.
“We have received a number of complaints of threat actors fraudulently charging thousands of dollars to stored credit cards,” says the letter to Meta’s chief legal officer, Jennifer Newstead. “In addition, we have received reports of threat actors purchasing ads to serve on Meta.”
“We decline to act as customer service representatives for your company,” the officials add. “Adequate investment in response and mitigation is mandatory.”
In addition to New York, the letter is signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska , Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.
Meta did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment on the letter.
Account takeover can occur as a result of identity fraud as well as other more sophisticated and specific techniques. Once an attacker gains access to an account, the owner can easily be locked out by changing passwords and contact information. Private messages and personal information are open to a variety of nefarious purposes, from phishing and fraud to promoting misinformation.
“It’s basically a case of identity theft and Facebook isn’t doing anything about it,” said one user whose complaint was cited in the letter to Meta’s Newstead.
State officials said accounts that were hijacked to post ads on Facebook often broke its rules by doing so, leading to their permanent suspension, punishing victims, often small business owners, twice.
“Having a scammer take over your social media account can be like someone sneaking into your house and changing all the locks,” James of New York said in a statement. “Social media is how millions of Americans connect with family, friends and people in their communities and around the world. “Meta’s failure to adequately protect users from scammers attempting to hijack accounts and lock out legitimate owners is unacceptable.”
Other complaints sent to Newstead show piracy victims expressing frustration at Meta’s lack of response. In many cases, users report that the company has not taken any action. Some say the company encourages users to report these types of problems but never responds, leaving them unable to save their accounts or the businesses they built around them.
After being hacked and defrauded out of $500, one user complained that their ability to communicate with their own customer base had been “completely disrupted” and that Meta had never responded to the report they filed, even though the user had followed the instructions. that the company had provided. them to get help.
