Meta is full of scams and knows it, WSJ report finds
Facebook and Instagram parent Meta is “increasingly a cornerstone of the internet fraud economy,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited regulators, banks, and internal documents.
Some stats from the article:
The company accounted for nearly half of all reported scams on bank payment platform Zelle between the summers of 2023 and 2024.
British and Australian regulators found similar levels of fraud coming from Meta.
An internal analysis by Meta in 2022 “found that 70% of newly active advertisers on the platform are promoting scams, illicit goods or ‘low quality’ products.”
Despite knowing about the bad behavior, Meta has been loath to crack down on what’s a big moneymaker for it. The social media company allows advertisers to accumulate up to 32 automated “strikes” for financial fraud before banning their accounts, WSJ said.
From the story:
“Current and former employees say Meta is reluctant to add impediments for ad-buying clients who drove a 22% increase in its advertising business last year to over $160 billion. Even after users demonstrate a history of scamming, Meta balks at removing them.”
British and Australian regulators found similar levels of fraud coming from Meta.
An internal analysis by Meta in 2022 “found that 70% of newly active advertisers on the platform are promoting scams, illicit goods or ‘low quality’ products.”
Despite knowing about the bad behavior, Meta has been loath to crack down on what’s a big moneymaker for it. The social media company allows advertisers to accumulate up to 32 automated “strikes” for financial fraud before banning their accounts, WSJ said.
From the story:
“Current and former employees say Meta is reluctant to add impediments for ad-buying clients who drove a 22% increase in its advertising business last year to over $160 billion. Even after users demonstrate a history of scamming, Meta balks at removing them.”
