WhatsApp has taken down 6.8 million accounts linked to criminal scam centers worldwide, according to its parent company, Meta.

Many of the accounts were linked to criminal groups operating in South East Asia, the social media giant said.

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.