Compromised accounts allow the threat actor to access the user’s personal or business information, private messages, and contacts.
Forty-one state attorneys general signed a letter demanding that Meta take “immediate action” to address the “dramatic increase” in account takeovers and lockouts on its social media platforms.
The letter, addressed to Jennifer Newstead, Meta’s chief legal officer, states that the attorney general offices have received an alarming number of complaints from Facebook and Instagram account holders whose accounts have been compromised by “threat actors,” adding that it has also put a “substantial drain on our office resources.”
“Consumers are reporting their utter panic when they first realize they have been locked out of their accounts,” the letter reads. “Users spend years building their personal and professional lives on your platforms, posting intimate thoughts, and sharing personal details, locations, and photos of family and friends. To have it taken away from them through no fault of their own can be traumatizing.”
The letter acknowledged that “account takeovers are not a new phenomenon” and that it affects all social media platforms and other types of online accounts.
“However, the frequency and persistence of account takeovers on Meta-owned platforms puts it in a league of its own,” the letter stated.
Compromised accounts allow the threat actor to access the user’s personal or business information, private messages, and contacts. There is also a significant financial risk of harm for those who use the platform for their business.
“There is a significant risk of financial harm to both the affected user and other individuals on the platform,” the attorneys general wrote. “Many use Facebook as a hub for their business to engage in consumer transactions through Facebook Marketplace; some users even have credit cards tied to their accounts. We have received a number of complaints of threat actors fraudulently charging thousands of dollars to stored credit cards.”
The letter said that the number of complaints to the New York Attorney General’s office “rose more than tenfold” between 2019 and 2023, with 73 and 783 complaints, respectively.
“In January 2024 alone, the office received 128 complaints,” according to the letter.
