Meta says in a blog post that it"s going to use facial recognition to identify fraud ads that use photos of celebrities, called "celeb-bait."
The rise of AI-generated photos has allowed many scammers to bait common people into engaging with ads that lead to scam websites, where they might be asked to share personal information or money. Meta is testing the new approach with 50,000 public figures and celebrities. It will compare the photos of their existing Facebook profiles with suspected scam ads and block them if they match.
Scammers often create a sense of familiarity by impersonating celebrities in private messages, sponsored posts, or ads. With AI, existing photos of celebrities can be manipulated, and scammers can even mimic voices, making it harder for potential victims to identify fraud easily. Many people have lost life savings and significant amounts of money due to these scams. One woman lost $300,000 after receiving a Facebook message from a scammer posing as a Brazilian singer.
Meta says that early testing with a small group of celebrities showed promising results in increasing the speed with which it can detect these scams. In the coming weeks, the company plans to start sending in-app notifications to more public figures who are impacted by such celeb bait to let them know they"re being enrolled in the protection.
Celebrities and public figures also have an option to entirely opt out of this protection using Meta"s Account Center.
Meta has had a complex history of storing information about people"s faces. Back in 2021, the company shut down its facial recognition system where it used to automatically tag people on photos, due to privacy concerns and legal challenges.
Meta also enables people to regain access to compromised accounts using the facial recognition feature. The company said that it"s testing video selfies for people to verify their identities to restore access to their accounts. After a user uploads their video selfie, Meta will compare it with their profile picture to check if it"s valid or not. Meta says that this video selfie will be encrypted and stored and that it will immediately delete any facial data generated after this comparison, whether it matches or not.