In a recent warning issued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, it has been brought to light that scammers on Facebook and WhatsApp are posing as public interest lawyers, offering fake immigration legal services. These scammers claim to expedite cases and conduct online court appearances, deceiving victims into paying hefty fees, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in losses. The prosecutor’s office has launched a campaign urging Meta to enhance control measures while also urging the public to verify the credentials of lawyers and select legitimate organizations with physical locations.
In a letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, Bragg urged for more proactive measures to curb the rampant immigration scams on the social media platforms. This move marks the second recent demand by the New York City prosecutors for major social media companies to take more responsibility for public safety issues.
According to the Manhattan DA’s office, scammers create “fake accounts” on Facebook and WhatsApp, impersonating legal service providers to lure unsuspecting immigrants into making payments. These fraudulent accounts often mimic real organizations and lawyers, even using logos to increase credibility and the likelihood of victims falling for the scam.
Bragg emphasized that such scams have led to some victims losing up to tens of thousands of dollars. Despite Meta’s terms of use explicitly prohibiting “illegal, deceptive, or fraudulent” behavior, the prosecution believes the platform has been ineffective in preventing criminals from exploiting its services to exploit vulnerable groups.
The letter mentioned that although Facebook has a mechanism for reporting “fake accounts,” at least two organizations providing free legal services have reflected that even when following the reporting procedures, their requests to remove fake accounts were rejected.
In response, Bragg urged Meta to take several improvement measures, including streamlining the process for law enforcement agencies to report accounts suspected of criminal activity, temporarily suspending accounts suspected of criminal impersonation, and requiring accounts claiming to represent legal service organizations to provide the organization’s physical location information.
So far, Meta has not responded to media inquiries. The Manhattan DA’s office has requested a meeting with company representatives to discuss the issue, but as of now, they have not received a response.
On this issue, the immigrant rights advocacy organization, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), expressed support. The organization’s executive director, Murad Awawdeh, stated that platforms like Meta should bear more responsibility to prevent user exploitation and called for New York to continue investing resources in legitimate legal services.
Bragg’s actions reflect local prosecutors’ recent efforts to strengthen oversight of social media platforms. Last week, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark wrote to several tech companies requesting assistance in preventing teenagers from using social media to organize “flash mob takeovers” of public spaces. Earlier this year, hundreds of teenagers gathered at a local mall, causing chaos and resulting in multiple riot and unlawful assembly charges.
DA Clark of the Bronx noted that TikTok has responded to her request and met with prosecutors, with both parties committing to promoting positive activities; Snapchat also responded detailing its measures to prevent dangerous behavior. However, her office highlighted that they have not yet received a response from Meta.
The Manhattan prosecutors announced they would launch an awareness campaign, allowing New York City residents to report related scam cases to the prosecutor’s immigration affairs unit via phone or WhatsApp.