CHARLOTTE — That “easy money” or “rapid weight loss” ad in your social feed may actually be a scam.
A recent Reuters investigation alleges that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, earned billions from fraudulent ads, leaving consumers on the hook, including an increasing number of young people. Consumer Reports says the problem isn’t going away.
Thomas in Utah had his credit card information stolen after buying, but never receiving the product advertised on Instagram. And the items Theresa from Nebraska bought through a Facebook ad were not at all like the ones in the photos. Consumer Reports says stories like these, submitted to its website, are becoming more common. Consumers reached out to CR stating yes, I saw an ad on Facebook. It seemed too good to be true. And guess what? It was!
Reuters says their investigation found that a large number of ads on Meta’s social media sites were scams served up to users by Meta’s algorithm. They did a deep dive and said that up to 10% of the company’s global revenue was coming from ads for scams or other illegal activity. According to Reuters, Meta was aware of the problem but undercut efforts to stop it while projecting roughly $16 billion in earnings from scam ads.
In a statement to Consumer Reports, Meta said, “We aggressively fight fraud and scams,” and said the documents Reuters relied on, “present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud.”
In response to claims that 10% of its revenue was generated by scam ads, Meta says that number was based on a rough estimate, and subsequent audits found that many of the ads were not violating its terms and conditions.
Short of swearing off social media altogether, CR says there are steps families can take:
Be skeptical. Treat ads for unbelievable deals with extreme caution, and if an ad looks suspicious, report it. You can report ads on Facebook and Instagram immediately by clicking the three dots in the top right corner or anytime by visiting Meta’s ad library.
CR says parents can share these tips with their kids and teens when discussing ways to stay safe online.
META RESPONSE:
“We aggressively fight fraud and scams because people on our platforms don’t want this content, legitimate advertisers don’t want it and we don’t want it either. Scammers are persistent criminals whose efforts, often driven by ruthless cross-border criminal networks that operate on a global scale, continue to grow in sophistication and complexity. As scam activity becomes more persistent and sophisticated, so do our efforts. Unfortunately, the leaked documents present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams by focusing on our efforts to assess the scale of the challenge, not the full range of actions we have taken to address the problem.”
On 10.1% of ad revenue being generated from violating ads:
“This number was a rough and overly-inclusive estimate rather than a definitive or final figure; in fact, subsequent review revealed that many of these ads weren’t violating at all. The assessment was done to validate our planned integrity investments - including in combatting frauds and scams - which we did.”
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