Meta earns billions from scams

Meta is the company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads. It sells ad space to businesses all over the world.

Some of its customers are scammers who use the platforms to lure users into traps with fake investments, pyramid schemes, and dangerous links.

According to material obtained by the Reuters news agency, Meta itself estimates that around 10 percent of its revenue comes from ads that are either scams or advertise illegal or otherwise prohibited products.

Internal calculations put the revenue from fraud-related ads at roughly 14 billion euros a year.

Meta only stops ads when the risk of fraud is estimated to be at least 95 percent. If the risk is high but below that threshold, the advertiser simply pays a higher price instead.

The idea is to make fraud less attractive, but the model still ensures significant revenue for Meta. The documents show that the group is aware of this balance and actively exploits it.

The fines can’t keep up with the revenue

Large tech companies have long been under the spotlight of EU regulators. Meta has created its own scenarios for what it could cost in fines if the EU tightens the requirements for handling scam ads. The internal estimates are around 860 million euros.

This amount is significantly lower than the estimated revenue from the fraudulent ads. This means that even high fines do not change the fact that the risky ad business is highly profitable.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone denies that the documents tell the whole story. He says the internal papers “are only part of the truth and misrepresent Meta’s relationship with fraud”.

He emphasizes that Meta invests in systems to detect and remove fraudulent advertising and sees itself as an active player in the fight against digital fraud.

Fraud approved as acceptable

Finnish media outlet Ilta-Sanomat has repeatedly tested Facebook’s limits in practice. In 2024, the media outlet reported ten obviously fraudulent ads.

However, Facebook found that all ten met the requirements for an acceptable ad.

The editorial team appealed each decision and asked for reconsideration. Eight ads were still approved. The last two ended without a clear decision and were never commented on.

The ads featured investment scams, pyramid schemes, and attempts to get users to install malware.

A more recent development is scams targeting victims who have already lost money. The ads promise legal help to people who have lost their savings in investment scams. The model requires upfront payment for legal assistance that is never delivered. This makes the initial damage even greater.

At the same time, the use of video manipulation is growing. In August, Facebook ran an ad in which a fake video of Finnish President Alexander Stubb lured users into what turned out to be a crypto scam.

This week, a new ad appeared in which a fake video of Finnish news anchor Piia Pasanen praised an online casino.

The aim was to get people to install an app that was actually malware.

The line between legitimate marketing and dangerous scams is being blurred as Meta rakes in billions from the advertising machine.