SINGAPORE – Like the generative artificial intelligence tools they use, scam syndicates are evolving quickly to tap technology to fool victims into making upfront payments in a new pet adoption ruse.

In its Adversarial Threat Report for the first half of 2026 that was released on March 11, Meta shared that the scam was started by a Cameroon-based network to lure victims under the guise of animal rehoming and adoption.

The network posted fake pet adoption content and requested payment for veterinary care, transportation, or rehoming fees.

Consisting of 100 groups and approximately 12,000 accounts across Facebook and Instagram, the network used generative AI tools for product descriptions, translations and to create realistic animal images.

Meta said AI was also used to help the scammers generate location-specific content, to target victims in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

The scammer has created a group called Singapore Cats For Adoptions to lure unsuspected pet lovers.

PHOTOS: SCREENGRABS VIA SINGAPORE CATS FOR ADOPTIONS/FACEBOOK

The scammers actively joined and created animal and pet-related groups, using these communities to identify targets.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said generative AI has lowered the barrier to entry for scammers and allowed bad actors to increase the quality, sophistication and scale of scam operations.

In its report, Meta said it has been investing in advanced AI systems to analyse text, images and context to identify sophisticated scam patterns quickly.

For example, AI is being used to detect content that redirects people to webpages designed to mimic legitimate ones. Meta said this protects brands and people from impersonation.

It added that AI will also be used in a new Messenger scam detection function that is being rolled out.

When a chat with a new contact contains patterns of common scams such as suspicious job offers, the user will be asked if he would like to share recent chat messages for an AI scam review.

If a potential scam is detected, the user will get more information on common scams and suggested actions to take including blocking or reporting the suspicious account.

Meta highlighted scams as one of the most persistent and adaptive threats online.

For example, a Bangladesh-based network had created some 8,600 accounts and 20 pages to run fake funeral live-streaming scams.

The ruse involved scammers sending Facebook requests from supposed funeral homes to potential victims who had just lost their loved ones.

After accepting the request, the victims were sent links to external websites and asked to enter credit card details to make donations or pay to access a purported funeral broadcast.

The scammers would then make unauthorised transactions on the victims’ accounts.

Meta said the scammers would search for the names of people who had recently died and target their grieving friends and family members when they were at their most vulnerable.

The company said it had disabled the network of accounts and pages involved in the scam, and taken enforcement action against 7,300 associated account operators which were conducting such fake funeral live-stream scams on Facebook.

“This operation represents a particularly egregious form of fraud that exploits grief and the desire of loved ones to participate in memorial services, demonstrating how threat actors continue to identify new ways to monetise human vulnerability and emotional distress,” said Meta in its report.

Scams remain a concern in Singapore, with victims losing more than $4 billion since 2019. In 2025, there were 37,308 cases reported, and $913.1 million lost.

Meta said its efforts to tackle scam syndicates led the company to remove more than 10.9 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, 600,000 Facebook pages and 112,000 ad accounts in 2025.

It also removed over 159 million scam ads, of which 92 per cent were taken down before anyone reported them.

Meta said it has also been working closely with various law enforcement agencies.

Earlier in March, the company took part in Joint Disruption Week, a global law enforcement operation held in Bangkok and organised by the Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Center.

Officials across several jurisdictions including Canada, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, took part in the operation to disrupt criminal scam centres in South-east Asia.

More than 150,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with scam centres were disabled after the operation.

This included 4,900 accounts based on intelligence shared by the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

An earlier joint crackdown in December 2025 saw the removal of 59,000 accounts, pages and groups from Meta’s platforms.

Mr Daryl Poon, Meta’s director of law enforcement for Asia-Pacific, said that with scammers adapting quickly, close cooperation between technology companies and law enforcement is critical.

He said: “Through initiatives like the Joint Disruption Week, we are able to share signals, identify coordinated scam activity earlier, and take action against the infrastructure these criminals rely on.

“Efforts like these help us stay ahead of emerging scam trends and better protect people across the region.”

Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Gregory Kang, assistant director of the SPF’s Cybercrime Division in the Criminal Investigation Department, said the SPF will continue to work with international partners to fight scams.

He said: “By proactively sharing information, we can more effectively disrupt the criminal networks behind these scams.

“The SPF will continue to work with our international partners to take firm action against scammers and protect members of the public.”