3.6 million 'shell pages' created to scam users on Facebook & Instagram taken down with S'pore police intelligence

In July, Meta took action against over 3.6 million "shell pages" flagged by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to have been created to scam users on Facebook and Instagram.

In a Sep. 22 press release, Meta described such pages as a newer scam vector.

As they did not display ads or violate the content, they look harmless. But scammers can activate these pages for scam campaigns at a moment's notice.

Using information provided by the Singapore police, Meta managed to identify and take down more than 3.6 million shell pages before they could be used.

Meta added that it has been pursuing further disruptions against this type of scam.

Information sharing

Meta and the SPF have built an information partnership over the past two years focused on proactively identifying and removing scam content online.

Tip-offs from the SPF have helped Meta's investigators identify and dismantle not just individual scams, but entire scam networks.

"By partnering closely with industry partners, we can share scam signals that allow our partners to take action to disrupt the criminal infrastructure behind these scams," said Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Wong, the commander of the SPF’s Cyber Command.

The partnership goes both ways.

In October 2025, information from Meta helped the SPF arrest seven men suspected of being involved in a transnational unlawful remote betting operation.

Investment and e-commerce scams

Between January and June 2026, Singapore police tip-offs also led Meta to take action against thousands of entities and pages connected to fraud and scams on Facebook and Instagram.

Over 113,000 were mainly to do with investment scams, sharing content to lure victims in with promises of guaranteed or high investment returns.

Additionally, more than 33,600 entities involving e-commerce scams were found following a joint operation by Meta and SPF that focused on such scams.

Such entities promoted misleading pricing, used fake promotional tactics for well-known brands, and exaggerated product claims, with a sense of urgency and scarcity.

Further joint efforts to combat scams

Meta has also been working with the SPF and Singapore's National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) on public education campaigns designed to protect Singaporeans from scams.

They included the "One Step Ahead" campaign in 2026 that has reached 1.6 million people in Singapore so far, according to Meta.

It encourages the public to turn on in-app security features such as 2-FA (Two-Factor Authentication) and passkeys for Facebook and Instagram to enhance account protection.

WhatsApp users are also advised to use the app's security features such as Linked Device Notifications.