Meta Platforms Inc. internally acknowledges that a significant portion of its projected annual revenue, potentially billions of dollars, is derived from fraudulent advertising on its platforms, according to internal documents reviewed by Reuters. This revelation places the technology giant as an indirect beneficiary of a global digital scam economy.
The company internally estimated that approximately 10.1% of its annual revenue for 2024, amounting to around $16 billion USD, would come from advertisements displaying clear signs of scams or promoting prohibited products. Meta reportedly exposes its users to about 15 billion suspicious ads daily.
Internal policies outlined in the documents reveal a strategy where advertisers are only removed if automated systems detect fraud with over 95% certainty. If the certainty is lower, Meta opts to charge these advertisers higher fees through “penalty bids” rather than blocking them entirely. This approach allows many suspicious advertisers to remain active for months, even accumulating hundreds of complaints.
🚨 Meta enfrenta un escándalo tras revelar que hasta el 10 % de sus ingresos provienen de anuncios fraudulentos
Se estima que cerca de USD $16.000 millones en 2024 podrÃan ser generados por publicidad de estafas
Más de 15.000 millones de anuncios sospechosos se presentan… pic.twitter.com/k71cfy2Pq2— Diario฿itcoin (@DiarioBitcoin) May 29, 2024
The internal reports, spanning from 2021 to May 2025 and encompassing finance, engineering, and security departments, indicate a persistent issue. For instance, ads categorized as having “high legal risk” alone were projected to generate roughly $7 billion USD annually.
Further underscoring this revenue-first approach, Meta imposed an internal limit for the first half of 2025. The team responsible for monitoring dubious advertisers was restricted from taking actions that would result in a loss exceeding 0.15% of the company’s total revenue, equivalent to about $135 million USD out of an estimated $90 billion USD generated during that period.
The consequences for users have been severe. Meta’s ad personalization system can inadvertently expose individuals who have previously interacted with scam messages to even more fraudulent content.
One documented case involved Mike Lavery, a former Canadian soldier, who lost approximately $29,200 USD (CAD $40,000) to a cryptocurrency scam. The fraudulent scheme was promoted through a hacked Facebook account belonging to a Canadian Air Force recruiter.
Despite over 100 reports from Lavery and his contacts, Meta reportedly took weeks to close the compromised account. During this delay, at least four other military colleagues were also defrauded. Lavery stated, “I thought I was talking to a trusted friend, that’s why I let my guard down.”
Internal security employees estimated that in 2023, Facebook and Instagram received roughly 100,000 scam reports weekly. However, 96% of these reports were either ignored or incorrectly rejected. Many of these scams involved deceptive cryptocurrency investments or non-existent trading operations.
In response, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone claimed the reviewed documents present a “selective” and “overly inclusive” view, suggesting that many legitimate advertisements were mistakenly included in the 10.1% figure. Stone asserted that Meta “aggressively combats” fraud, noting a 58% global reduction in fraudulent ad reports over the past 18 months and the removal of over 134 million suspicious ads in 2025 alone.
Despite Meta’s public statements, regulatory pressure is mounting. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Meta for the dissemination of financial scam advertisements. In the United Kingdom, a regulator found that Meta products were implicated in 54% of payment-related scam losses in 2023, more than double all other platforms combined.
Internally, Meta has set targets to gradually reduce the proportion of revenue linked to fraudulent ads. The company aims to decrease it from the estimated 10.1% in 2024 to 7.3% by the end of 2025, 6% in 2026, and 5.8% in 2027.
The internal recognition that its platforms have become a “pillar of the global fraud economy” poses significant questions, especially as Meta invests billions in artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The personalization algorithms employed by Meta could amplify illicit content, signaling potential increased scrutiny from regulators and impacting the broader digital advertising and cryptocurrency ecosystems.