By Dean Seal


A coalition of states are calling on Meta Platforms to address a rise in Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers.

The group of 41 states, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said Wednesday that there has been a dramatic increase over the past year in account takeovers, in which scammers hijack a Facebook or Instagram user's account and change the password.

Doing so can allow the intruder to steal personal user information, read private passages and pose as the user to scam their contacts or post publicly.

The states said constituents are reaching out to them for support after having their accounts taken over. Between 2019 and 2023, account takeover complaints have risen tenfold, the attorneys general said.

They are asking Meta to review its data security practices for protecting accounts from being unfairly locked out or taken over by fraudsters.


Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-06-24 0937ET