## Meta Under Fire for Profiting from Scam Ads, Internal Documents Reveal
A recent investigation by Reuters has uncovered troubling evidence that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been earning billions of dollars by allowing scam advertisements to proliferate on its platforms. Internal documents spanning several years reveal that Meta not only failed to promptly remove fraudulent ads and accounts but also targeted these ads to users most likely to fall for them, raising serious questions about the company’s commitment to user safety and its prioritization of profits over protection.
### Billions in Revenue from Scam Ads
According to Meta’s own internal estimates, users across its platforms encounter a staggering 15 billion “high risk” scam ads every day. These figures are in addition to 22 billion organic scam attempts that users face daily. In 2024 alone, Meta projected that it would earn approximately $16 billion from scam ads—about 10 percent of its total revenue. “High risk” scam ads typically promote fake products, illegal gambling, banned medical products, and fraudulent investment schemes. Particularly problematic are “imposter” ads, which impersonate celebrities or well-known brands, posing severe risks of financial and reputational harm.
Examples of such scam ads include those using the likeness of Elon Musk to offer fake gifts, or Donald Trump purportedly promising Americans a $710 payout as “tariff relief.” Another ad even impersonated a legitimate law firm, ironically offering advice on how to avoid online scams. After Reuters brought these specific ads to Meta’s attention, they were removed, but not before Meta had already profited significantly from similar “high risk” advertisements.
### Reluctance to Act Against Profitable Scammers
One of the most alarming revelations from Reuters’ investigation is that Meta was hesitant to swiftly remove accounts identified as major scammers. Internal documents show that some “high value accounts” were allowed to accrue more than 500 violations—or “strikes”—without being shut down. Rather than banning these bad actors, Meta chose to penalize them by charging higher rates for their ads, effectively turning a blind eye as long as the revenue kept flowing.
Meta’s ad-personalization system also played a role in amplifying the problem. Users who clicked on scam ads were more likely to be shown similar content, making them repeat targets for scammers. This system, designed to optimize engagement and ad revenue, inadvertently funneled more scam ads to the most vulnerable users.
### Balancing Safety with Profit and AI Ambitions
Internal discussions within Meta reveal a persistent tension between cutting off scam revenue and maintaining the financial resources needed for ambitious investments in artificial intelligence and virtual reality. In 2023, Meta even laid off its entire team dedicated to handling advertiser brand-rights concerns and instructed safety teams to limit their use of computing resources, redirecting those resources toward AI development.
Documents from 2024 show that Meta considered a “moderate” approach to enforcement, aiming to reduce scam-related revenue by a mere 1–