It has been revealed that Meta earned over 2 billion yen from fraudulent advertisements targeting the elderly.
While browsing social media and websites, you may encounter advertisements that use digitally altered faces of celebrities and other images that are clearly fraudulent. A new report from the Center for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH) reveals that Meta, the company that operates Facebook and Instagram, has earned more than $14.3 million (approximately 2.2 billion yen) from fraudulent advertisements targeting the elderly.
Scambook — Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH
Meta allows repeat scam artists to target seniors, report says
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/meta-allows-repeat-scam-artists-target-seniors-report-says-rcna344068
Meta made tens of millions off scam ads that ripped off seniors | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/meta-profited-from-medicare-scam-ads-report
CCDH analyzed 90,000 ads in Meta's ad library to investigate fraudulent advertisements published on the Meta platform. These ads were found to be posted by fraudulent accounts claiming to be Medicare , the US public healthcare program for seniors and people with disabilities.
Many of these fraudulent ads promised thousands of dollars worth of free groceries, rent, gasoline, and other benefits through Medicare, urging users to 'Don't be stupid, claim now.' However, clicking the links in the ads or calling the specified numbers did not result in users receiving the promised benefits. Instead, it seems that users' personal information was collected or they were led to malicious Medicare programs.
The fraudulent ads also utilized deepfakes of politicians and celebrities such as President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, television host Oprah Winfrey, and actor Brad Pitt. The ads were reportedly primarily targeted at Facebook users aged 65 and older living in Texas and Florida.
Analysis revealed that these fraudulent ads garnered over 215 million impressions across Facebook, with 73% of viewers being users aged 65 or older. Although the scammers' accounts had an average of 151 fraudulent ads removed by Meta, they were able to create nearly identical copies and repost the ads.
In its report, CCDH estimates that Meta earned a total of $14.3 million in advertising revenue from fraudulent Medicare-related ads. However, this figure is based only on ads listed in Meta's ad library, and the actual revenue may be even higher.
This report also reveals that Meta repeatedly approved the display of fraudulent ads from advertisers who had previously violated advertising standards. The account 'Golden Help For All' was allowed to continue displaying ads despite having a history of 1,335 policy violations.
Furthermore, while Meta attempts to remove ads that violate its terms of service, it has been reported that it may allow other ads with similar or identical content. According to CCDH, of 86 different fraudulent ads that used the same video, 48 were rejected, but the remaining 38 were allowed to be displayed.
Marissa Garcia, who lives in Las Vegas with her 79-year-old grandmother, argues that fraudulent ads rampant on Facebook are a burden not only for the elderly but also for their families. In fact, Garcia's grandmother has nearly fallen for these scams many times, and Garcia and her family have stopped her each time, but she has once ended up on the phone with a scammer who tried to get her Medicare number and other personal information.
Garcia said, 'Frankly, it's deplorable that Meta allows this to keep happening. When these kinds of scams are done on Facebook, older people tend to trust them. One of the things my grandmother said to me was, 'If this is a scam, why is Facebook posting it?''
A Meta spokesperson said in a statement, 'We are taking proactive measures against fraud both on and off our platform because it is harmful to Meta, as well as to the people and businesses that use our services. Last year alone, we removed more than 159 million fraudulent ads, 92% of which were removed before they were reported. We are also introducing new tools to protect our users and working with law enforcement agencies around the world to stop these criminals from operating.'
Furthermore, in 2025, Reuters reported that 'Meta estimated that by the end of 2024, it would earn $16 billion (approximately 2.45 trillion yen), or about 10% of its total annual revenue, from advertising fraud and prohibited products.'
Meta was found to have earned 10% of its revenue from fraudulent ads, raising suspicions that it deliberately delayed addressing the issue - GIGAZINE
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