Internal documents have revealed that Meta Platforms knowingly generated billions of dollars in revenue from fraudulent advertisements, a practice that reportedly helped fund the company's significant investments in artificial intelligence. The documents, spanning from 2021 to 2025, outline a strategy where the company hesitated to remove high-volume scam accounts due to concerns about potential revenue loss.
A 2024 projection within the company estimated that approximately $16 billion, or 10% of its total revenue, would come from these scam ads. This approach allowed fraudulent actors to thrive on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, while Meta balanced enforcement actions against its financial targets for AI development.
Key Takeaways
- Internal Meta documents show the company projected earning $16 billion from scam ads in one year.
- Revenue from fraudulent ads was seen as important for funding the company's multi-billion dollar AI initiatives.
- Meta's ad system often targeted users who had previously clicked on scams with more similar fraudulent content.
- Some scam accounts were allowed to accumulate over 500 policy violations without being shut down.
- A former executive has called for the company to donate profits from scam ads and increase transparency.
A Calculated Risk for Revenue
The internal records suggest a deliberate and systematic approach to managing fraudulent content on Meta's platforms. Instead of immediate removal, accounts identified as sources of scams were sometimes penalized with higher advertising rates. This allowed Meta to continue earning revenue from them. Some of the most prolific scam accounts, referred to internally as “high value accounts,” were permitted to accrue more than 500 policy strikes without being deactivated.
This strategy was directly linked to the company's broader financial goals. Documents from 2025 express concern that an “abrupt reduction” in scam ad revenue could negatively impact business projections. This was particularly sensitive as the company planned to invest an estimated $72 billion into artificial intelligence and its virtual reality division.
By the Numbers
According to a 2024 internal estimate, users across Meta's apps encounter approximately 15 billion "high risk" scam ads every single day. This is in addition to another 22 billion daily organic scam attempts that are not paid advertisements.
The problem was compounded by Meta's own ad-personalization system. The documents acknowledge that the algorithm designed to show users relevant content also worked in favor of scammers. Users who clicked on one scam ad were more likely to be shown others, creating a feedback loop that increased their exposure to fraudulent schemes.
The Scope of On-Platform Fraud
The types of scams proliferating on Facebook and Instagram were varied and often sophisticated. They included advertisements for fake products, deceptive investment opportunities, and banned medical items. Some of the most concerning were “imposter” ads, which used the likenesses of public figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump or mimicked legitimate brands to gain users' trust.
One such ad, using a photo of Elon Musk, read, “Hey it’s me. I have a gift for you text me.” Another impersonated a real law firm, ironically offering advice on how to avoid falling victim to online scams. While Meta removed these specific examples after they were flagged, the company earned an estimated $7 billion from such “high risk” ads in 2024 alone.
A Lagging Enforcement Strategy
Internal communications suggest that Meta employees were aware their platform was more susceptible to fraud than its competitors. A staff conclusion noted that “it is easier to advertise scams on Meta platforms than Google.” In response, the company adopted what a 2024 document called a “moderate” approach to enforcement, aiming to reduce revenue from scams by just 1–3 percentage points annually.
The enforcement teams themselves faced constraints. In February, one team responsible for vetting advertisers was reportedly instructed not to take actions that could cost the company more than 0.15% of its total revenue—a figure that translates to approximately $135 million. A manager advised the team to “be cautious” to avoid accidentally blocking legitimate ads during enforcement sweeps.
Calls for Accountability and Transparency
Meta has disputed the portrayal of its actions. A company spokesperson, Andy Stone, described the collection of documents as presenting a “selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams.” He stated that the $16 billion revenue projection was “rough and overly-inclusive” but declined to provide an alternative figure. He added, “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.”
Despite these claims, former employees and industry experts are calling for greater regulatory oversight. Sandeep Abraham, a former safety investigator at Meta, drew a parallel to the financial industry.
“If regulators wouldn’t tolerate banks profiting from fraud, they shouldn’t tolerate it in tech.”
Rob Leathern, who previously led Meta's business integrity unit, has since co-founded a nonprofit, CollectiveMetrics.org, to push for more transparency in digital advertising. He argues that independent researchers need access to ad data to create “scorecards” that measure how effectively platforms are combating scams.
Leathern also proposed concrete steps Meta could take, such as notifying users when they are known to have interacted with a scam ad. He further suggested that any profits earned from fraudulent advertising should be donated to nonprofits dedicated to educating the public about online safety. “There’s lots that could be done with funds that come from these bad guys,” he said.