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Meta internally projected it would earn approximately $16 billion, or 10% of its total 2024 revenue, from advertising related to scams and banned goods, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters.
The cache of previously unreported documents, spanning from 2021 to 2025, reveals that Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have exposed billions of users to fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online gambling operations, and the sale of prohibited medical products for at least three years.
According to one document from December 2024, Meta estimates its platforms show users an average of 15 billion "higher risk" scam advertisements daily—ads exhibiting clear signs of fraudulent activity.
Enforcement Thresholds and Penalty Systems
The documents reveal that Meta only bans advertisers when its automated systems predict with at least 95% certainty that they are committing fraud. For suspected fraudsters who fall below this threshold, the company implements a "penalty bid" system, charging higher advertising rates to discourage illicit activity.
An internal Meta review from April 2025 concluded that "it is easier to advertise scams on Meta platforms than Google," though the document did not specify the reasoning behind this assessment.
The documents also indicate that users who click on scam advertisements are likely to see more fraudulent content due to Meta’s ad-personalization system, which delivers advertisements based on user interests and behavior.
Regulatory Scrutiny and Financial Calculations
The revelations come as Meta faces mounting regulatory pressure globally. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company for running advertisements promoting financial scams, according to the internal documents.
In Britain, a regulator determined that Meta’s products were involved in 54% of all payments-related scam losses in 2023—more than double all other social platforms combined.
Internal documents from November 2024 note that Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from "higher legal risk" advertisements, a figure that "almost certainly exceeds the cost of any regulatory settlement involving scam ads." The company anticipated potential penalties of up to $1 billion.
User Complaints and Enforcement Challenges
The documents reveal significant failures in Meta’s complaint handling processes. In 2023, safety staff estimated that 96% of the 100,000 valid weekly user reports of fraud were either ignored or incorrectly rejected.
One case highlighted in the reporting involved a Royal Canadian Air Force recruiter whose Facebook account was compromised. Despite the recruiter and her colleagues filing more than 100 reports, the account remained active for a month, promoting a cryptocurrency scam. One colleague, Mike Lavery, lost C$40,000 (approximately $28,000) to the scheme.
“I thought I was talking to a trusted friend. Because of that, my guard was down.”
Company Response and Reduction Plans
Meta spokesman Andy Stone stated that the documents "present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams." He described the 10.1% revenue projection as "rough and overly-inclusive," asserting that the company later determined the true number was lower because the estimate included many legitimate advertisements. Stone declined to provide an updated figure.
“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. Over the past 18 months, we have reduced user reports of scam ads globally by 58 percent and, so far in 2025, we’ve removed more than 134 million pieces of scam ad content.”
According to the documents, executives presented a plan to CEO Mark Zuckerberg in October 2024 to gradually reduce illicit revenue from the projected 10.1% in 2024 to 7.3% by the end of 2025, and to 6% by the end of 2026.
Industry Expert Analysis
Sandeep Abraham, a fraud expert and former Meta security investigator who now operates consulting firm Risky Business Solutions, noted that Meta’s acceptance of revenue from sources it suspects are committing fraud highlights the lack of regulatory oversight in the advertising industry.
“If regulators wouldn’t tolerate banks profiting from fraud, they shouldn’t tolerate it in tech.”
The Global Anti-Scam Alliance estimates that victims worldwide lost at least $1 trillion to scams in the last year alone. According to the organization’s "2025 Global State of Scams" report, approximately 23% of adults globally have had money stolen by scammers, with that figure rising to 41% in South America and Africa.
Source: Reuters
