Meta fires employees who accessed Facebook and Instagram accounts
It has long been known that Meta employees abused their access and accessed user accounts on Facebook and Instagram, when they did not have permission to do so. The authors explored the social networking giant’s account recovery tool called Online Operations (Oops).
Oops is a long-standing shortcut to Facebook and Instagram’s typically automated account recovery process, designed for the knowledge of Meta employees. The system processed around 50,000 jobs in 2020, with the number growing rapidly as the Target grew. But the Wall Street Journal reports that a black market has grown up around it, especially among third-party security providers.
A now-fired employee reveals he was tricked into filing fraudulent Oops reports on behalf of others. Another, who denied any wrongdoing, was paid thousands of dollars in bitcoins for working with the hackers. Meanwhile, outside of Meta’s workforce, some companies offer account recovery as a paid service, promising they can pull strings within the company. As one such employee put it, “You really need to have someone on the inside who actually does this”.
After that case, Meta fired employees who accepted bribes to access Facebook and Instagram user accounts. Here’s what a spokesperson says:
People selling fraudulent services always target online platforms, including ours, and adapt their tactics based on detection methods commonly used in the industry.
People should never buy or sell accounts or pay for an account recovery service as this is a violation of our Terms. We also regularly update our security measures to deal with this type of activity and will continue to take appropriate action against those involved in such schemes.
The measures against dishonest employees came after an internal investigation revealed misuse of Meta’s internal system.
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