Scam and prohibited ads reportedly made up about 10.1% of Meta’s 2024 revenue.”
“Meta says the claims misrepresent its efforts to fight fraud.
Meta Platforms Inc., owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, reportedly earns about $7 billion annually from scam advertisements, according to Nairametrics reporting based on documents obtained by Reuters. The internal files revealed that Meta displays around 15 billion “high-risk” ads daily, including those promoting fraudulent e-commerce, illegal gambling, and banned medical products.
Reuters reported that Meta’s systems only ban advertisers when its tools are 95% certain of fraud; otherwise, it charges higher ad rates, profiting from suspected scam activity. The documents indicated that such ads accounted for 10.1% of Meta’s 2024 revenue—about $16 billion.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the reports “present a selective view” and insisted the company “aggressively fights fraud and scams.” He added Meta reduced scam ad reports by 58% in 18 months and deleted 134 million scam posts in 2025.
According to Reuters, Meta’s internal studies found its platforms were involved in one-third of successful scams in the U.S. The U.S. SEC and UK regulators are investigating Meta’s role in facilitating financial scams.