The Romance Scammer Who Made a Small Fortune Posing as a WWE Superstar

In this excerpt from WIRED Book Club pick The Yahoo Boys, journalist Carlos Barragán traces one scammer’s journey from flop to fortune...

Meta Removes 63,000 Instagram Accounts Linked to Nigerian Sextortion Scams

Meta Platforms on Wednesday said it took steps to remove around 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria that were found to target people with financial sextortion scams. "These included a smaller coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts that we were able to link to a group of around 20...

Financial sextortion scams on the rise

“Hey there!” messaged Savannah, someone 16-year-old Charlie had never met before, but looked cute in her profile picture. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and an adorable smile, so he decided to DM with her on Instagram. Soon their flirty exchanges grew heated, and Savannah was sending Charli...

The Real-Time Deepfake Romance Scams Have Arrived

Watch how smooth-talking scammers known as “Yahoo Boys” use widely available face-swapping tech to carry out elaborate romance scams...