A watchdog group has identified 63 scam advertisers on Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, who have collectively spent $49 million on advertisements promoting fake government benefits. These scammers have used deepfake videos of American politicians, including former President Donald Trump, to target seniors with ads offering fake stimulus checks, government spending cards, and healthcare payments.
The nonprofit Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that these ads have reached tens of thousands of users on the platforms. The scammers are taking advantage of advances in artificial intelligence technology and public confusion around social safety net programs to target new victims. Despite Meta’s policies prohibiting scams, the company has allowed this activity to continue, according to TTP.
Meta requires advertisers seeking to run political ads in the United States to undergo a special authorization process, which includes submitting an official ID and a US mailing address. However, TTP found that all 63 scam advertisers had their advertisements removed by Meta within the past 12 months for violating the company’s policies, yet nearly half of them continued to advertise as of recently.
One advertiser, called the Relief Eligibility Center, ran an ad featuring a deepfake video of Trump falsely promising stimulus checks to Americans. The video was targeted at men and women over the age of 65 in more than 20 US states. Professional fact-checkers have warned about bogus stimulus check offers circulating on social media platforms for years.
The latest findings underscore the explosion of online fraud, with surveys showing a growing number of American adults experiencing internet scams or impersonation attacks. In August, the Federal Trade Commission reported a significant increase in complaints from older adults who lost substantial amounts of money to scammers impersonating trusted government agencies or businesses.
Meta has stated that it will invest in building new technical defenses to prevent scams, as scammers constantly evolve their tactics to evade detection. The company appeared to disable 35 ad accounts, but only after they ran dozens or hundreds of ads. Six of the accounts spent over $1 million before they were disabled or deleted. The issue highlights the need for continued vigilance and improvement in content moderation to protect users from online scams.
