© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A blue verification badge and the Facebook and Instagram logos are seen in this illustration taken January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
2/2
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Forty U.S. states and Washington, D.C., called on Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) to crack down on scammers hijacking Facebook and Instagram accounts, to address a “dramatic” rise in takeovers of counts.
In a letter to Meta's lead attorney, the states led by New York Attorney General Letitia James said scammers are “winning the war and laying waste to Meta,” after the company announced in November 2022 thousands of job cuts focused on security and privacy.
The states said New York has received a 1,000% increase in complaints since 2019 about scammers accessing accounts and changing passwords, allowing them to read private messages and impersonate real users to deceive contacts and the public.
Four of the states (Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont) reported increases in complaints exceeding 250% in the last year alone.
“Social media is how millions of Americans connect,” James said in a statement. “Having a scammer take over your social media account can be like someone sneaking into your house and changing all the locks.”
The states urged Meta to spend more money to prevent account takeovers, including through increased staffing, and to work more closely with people whose accounts are hacked.
In an emailed statement, a Meta spokeswoman said the Menlo Park, California-based company invests “heavily” in technology and staff to identify compromised accounts, and shares tips with users and authorities to address the issue. .
Also signing the letter were Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Jersey . Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In October, 41 states and Washington, D.C., sued Meta, alleging that the company designed its platforms for addicted children, harming their mental health.
