Meta And Chime Sue With Two Scammers From Nigeria For Phishing Attacks

Meta and Chime sue Nigerian scammers. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., said Tuesday, February 8, that it has filed a joint lawsuit with digital banking company Chime against two Nigeria-based individuals. The two men are suspected of being involved in a phishing attack to trick people and gain access to their online financial accounts.

The lawsuit, which is the first joint complaint between Meta and a financial services company, alleges that the defendants used Facebook and Instagram accounts to impersonate Chime and lure people to fake-branded phishing websites with the aim of obtaining their Chime account login information and withdrawing funds.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California, Meta said the defendants used a computer network to control more than 800 impersonating Instagram accounts and five Facebook accounts, to hide their activity and avoid technical problems. enforcement measures.

"Impersonation fraud is a serious challenge, and this action is a major step forward in cross-industry collaboration against this abuse," said Meta platform enforcement and litigation director Jessica Romero in a blog post, quoted by Reuters.

Fintech firm Chime was launched by former Visa Inc executive Chris Britt and Comcast Corp alum Ryan King in 2012. Reuters reported last month that Chime had asked Goldman Sachs to help prepare for the IPO.

Meta said it had taken several previous actions against the defendants since June 2020 for violating its terms, including deactivating their accounts, blocking impersonating domains on its platform and sending termination letters.