Meta removes Instagram accounts running sextortion scams

Meta said Wednesday that it had taken down about 63,000 accounts in Nigeria that were engaging in sextortion scams.

Sexual extortion, or sextortion, is blackmail where criminals threaten to release explicit photos of someone — either real or fake — unless the victim pays money or engages in sexual favors.

The social network said the scams were mostly aimed at people in the United States and that the accounts were from its Instagram platform; an earlier report said Facebook accounts were deleted. Meta owns Instagram, Facebook and the WhatsApp messaging platform.