Facebook removes 5.4 million scam, fraud posts in Vietnam

A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. Photo by Reuters

It said it scrutinized nearly 12 million accounts linked to scam operations across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp globally during the period, with some 20% of them involving compromised accounts.

In Vietnam, the social media giant also deleted 14,000 pieces of content on Instagram. More than 94% of violations on Facebook and 76% on Instagram were detected automatically. More than 116,000 Facebook accounts and 28,000 Instagram accounts were suspended, with the majority of violations identified and removed automatically.

On Facebook’s Marketplace, over 444,000 suspicious posts were blocked, and 18 million violating ads were taken down. A Meta spokesperson said Vietnam ranked second in the number of posts removed in the listed markets.

Thailand topped the list with 7.3 million posts removed.

Khoi Le, Meta’s country director for Vietnam, emphasized that tightening control on platforms is necessary as online scams become increasingly sophisticated.

TikTok has also reported a lot of scam-related content on its platform. Nguyen Lam Thanh, CEO of TikTok Vietnam, said last year over 400,000 scam-related videos were removed, with 97% of them detected and blocked by its system.

The growing prevalence of cybercrime is highlighted in both domestic and international reports.

The Global Anti-Scam Alliance estimated cybercrime losses in 2023 were in excess of US$1 trillion globally, with Vietnam alone accounting for $16 billion.

According to the Vietnam Cybersecurity Association’s data, in 2024 online fraud in Vietnam resulted in losses of VND18,900 billion ($72 million).