HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud has accused tech big Meta of “turning a blind eye” as pretend accounts impersonating his sister, HRH Princess Reem bint Alwaleed, brazenly defraud Gulf residents on Fb and Instagram.
Dozens of fraudulent pages, he stated, are utilizing Princess Reem’s identify and picture to solicit small money “investments” – usually as little as AED 100 – from weak GCC residents. Regardless of documented complaints, Meta has didn’t acknowledge his staff’s studies.
“When there’s a actual drawback, like fraudulent unhealthy actors taking unsuspecting folks for cash, out and out conning them brazenly, social media corporations declare not to have the ability to handle the issue,” Prince Khaled instructed Arabian Enterprise.
“I’m rather well versed with expertise, and these corporations have astounding capabilities. To state in any other case is actually simply taking us for a trip.”
Prince Khaled stated Meta’s regional operation focuses nearly completely on gross sales, with little or no funding in consumer security.
“The social media corporations solely set up salespeople right here within the area,” he stated. “They don’t hassle organising belief and safety arms as a result of they’re solely involved with profiting off of our digital pursuits.”
He stated his communications staff compiled and submitted an in depth file of fraudulent accounts throughout a number of platforms. Whereas Snap and X responded instantly – “each doing clear sweeps” – Meta “went fully silent.”
Prince Khaled stated: “And that is somebody like me who has a full communications and digital staff. What does an individual do in the event that they don’t have a staff to cope with this? They will do nothing. They’re victimised and so they haven’t any hope of getting assist. The place is the dedication to the area? The place is the dedication to the folks?”
He added TikTok’s response was additionally initially insufficient – “they despatched us an info web page and did nothing else” – although its coverage staff later took motion after what he described as “quite a lot of backwards and forwards.”
Prince Khaled requires tighter controls
Prince Khaled has now known as on regulators in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to research the platforms’ dealing with of impersonation and fraud, saying their “take-take-take” relationship with the Gulf should finish.
He stated: “They make extraordinary sums right here, however with regards to defending our residents, they disguise behind excuses. It’s time for accountability.”
Meta reported earnings of $62.36 billion in 2024.
Former Meta Head of Coverage for MENA Ashraf Zeitoon echoed the prince’s criticism, telling Arabian Enterprise corporations like Meta “have all of the sources, human, monetary and technical, to handle the problem” however lack the need.
“They might simply deploy instruments similar to IP handle blocking to stop scammers from creating new accounts,” Zeitoon stated. “However their belief and security groups within the GCC are underdeveloped, and monetary fraud merely doesn’t sit on their precedence checklist.”
Meta didn’t reply to a request for remark from Arabian Enterprise.
