Is Your WhatsApp Linked to a Stranger? Meta’s New AI Tools Now Block Hijacking Attempts
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 11, 2026 10:40 PM IST
Meta, on Wednesday, March 11, announced a range of new technologies, user alerts and global partnerships aimed at combating the growing problem of online scams across its platforms.
The social media giant said that scammers are increasingly using sophisticated tactics to impersonate public figures, brands and trusted organisations, prompting Meta to expand its use of artificial intelligence (AI) and strengthen enforcement efforts.
According to Meta, new AI systems are now being used to detect “celeb-bait” scams and brand impersonation by analysing multiple signals such as text, images and surrounding context.
The company said these systems can identify patterns such as fake fan sentiment, misleading biographies and suspicious associations with public figures.
The AI tools are also designed to detect deceptive links and domain impersonation. These scams often redirect users to websites that mimic legitimate platforms in order to steal personal information or financial details. Meta said its systems can now identify a broader range of such behaviours and help protect thousands of brands from impersonation attempts.
Safety alerts across Meta apps
In addition to backend detection systems, the company is also testing new warnings and safety alerts across its apps.
On Facebook, Meta is testing alerts for suspicious friend requests. Users may see warnings when they receive requests from accounts that show signals of potentially suspicious activity, such as having very few mutual friends or listing a different country location in their profile.
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WhatsApp will also introduce alerts designed to prevent account takeover scams. Fraudsters often trick users into linking their WhatsApp account to another device by asking them to enter a code or scan a QR code under false pretenses. The new warning system will notify users if a device linking request appears suspicious.
Meanwhile, Meta is expanding its AI-powered scam detection on Messenger to more countries. The feature will flag common scam patterns, such as suspicious job offers, and allow users to submit recent chat messages for AI review before deciding whether to block or report an account.
The company is also expanding advertiser verification, aiming for verified advertisers to account for 90 per cent of its ad revenue by the end of 2026, up from 70 per cent currently.
Meta said enforcement efforts remain a key part of its anti-scam strategy. In 2025, it removed more than 159 million scam ads, 92 per cent of which were detected before being reported by users. It also removed 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to scam centres.
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