According to internal documents obtained by Reuters, Meta estimated that around 10% of its total revenue — approximately $16 billion in 2023 — came from fraudulent advertisements running across its platforms.
The report claims that for the past three years, Meta failed to fully protect users from misleading ads promoting illegal gambling, fake investment schemes, and banned medical products. These scams often lure users with false promises, aiming to extract money or personal information under the guise of legitimate offers.
Although Meta has developed tools to detect potentially fraudulent ad campaigns, the company reportedly only suspends advertiser accounts when it’s 95% certain of fraudulent activity. In most other cases, Meta simply increases ad costs for suspicious advertisers to discourage further spending. However, when those advertisers continue to purchase ads, the result is additional revenue for Meta.
When contacted by TechCrunch, Meta declined to comment before publication. In a statement to Reuters, company spokesperson Andy Stone said the documents “present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams.” He added that over the past 18 months, the company has cut user reports of scam ads by 58% and removed more than 134 million deceptive ads from its platforms.
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