Aug. 6 (UPI) -- WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts linked to scammers around the world, Meta said. WhatsApp rolled out a new anti-scam measure to alert users of scams. Many of the scams were tied to criminal organizations in South East Asia, according to Meta.

WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts that were “linked to criminal scam centers” targeting people online around that world, its parent company Meta said this week. The account deletions, which Meta said took place over the first six months of the year,

WhatsApp has removed 6.8 million scam-linked accounts in a global crackdown, Meta announced. New WhatsApp safety tools are rolling out, including alerts when unknown users add someone to a group. Scams are growing more complex, often using multiple platforms and AI tools to trick users.