Scammers are using Meta's copyright takedown tool against influencers

Some social media influencers on Facebook and Instagram are now dealing with a growing new problem on Meta-owned platforms: Extortion.According to a new report from Bloomberg, scammers are now issuing copyright takedowns on Facebook and Instagram content that they do not own — and they’re doing it with Meta’s own rights management tool that is meant to help protect creators’ work.Malicious actors are seeking to coerce influencers out of thousands of dollars, sometimes demanding recurring payments, to prevent future illegitimate takedowns from occurring. SEE ALSO: Crypto scam victims are being scammed double by fake law firms, FBI warns Extorting influencers with Meta’s own toolsThe new report from Bloomberg focuses on social media influencers in the Middle East who are finding that their content is being taken down through Meta’s rights management tool over nonexistent copyright issues. When these content creators reached out to the contact that issued the takedown through Meta’s system, the scammer behind the copyright strike admitted that there was no actual copyright issue — and then attempted to extort them.This fraudulent practice seems to be growing on social media platforms, so scammers are likely finding success in their fake copyright scheme. One influencer from Iraq shared that the scammer offered to restore the content that they took down for $3,000. Furthermore, the scammer offered to stop issuing fraudulent takedown requests on his content for a recurring payment of $1,000 per month or an upfront payment of $7,000 per year.Scammers have long attempted to weaponize copyright to extort money…Scammers are using Meta's copyright takedown tool against influencers