Internal documents reviewed in that reporting show Meta Platforms projected about 10.1 percent of its 2024 revenue, roughly 16 billion dollars, would come from advertising tied to scams and banned goods. The same reporting states that users across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are exposed to as many as 15 billion higher risk scam advertisements every day.
Meta only classifies adverts as banned goods or outright fraudulent when certain thresholds are met. Advertisers that look suspicious but do not hit a 95 percent certainty threshold are often allowed to continue buying ads at higher rates instead of being removed.
The documents also show that user reporting is ignored at scale. In 2023 Meta estimated that 96 percent of valid scam reports were dismissed.
The issue is built into Meta’s business model. By charging more to likely scam advertisers rather than banning them, Meta turns risk into revenue. One internal record shows that in the first half of 2025, enforcement teams were prevented from reducing ad revenue by more than 0.15 percent of overall income. That limit was about 135 million dollars and functioned as a hard cap on meaningful crackdowns.
That same review found that it is easier to run scams on Meta platforms than on Google, which scammers exploit. Meta also acknowledged its services play a large role in the global fraud economy, estimating they were involved in roughly one third of all successful United States scams.
Regulators now hold evidence that Meta’s internal risk metrics and business incentives do not align with user safety. If the SEC or UK authorities levy substantial fines, Meta anticipates settlements up to one billion dollars. Even that would be a small portion of the scam related revenue documented internally.
The situation reaches beyond Meta. It shows how major platforms can prioritise ad income over user protection. Fighting online fraud requires cutting off profit streams, not simply writing new rules. Meta’s documents highlight the need for regulation that forces corporate incentives to align with public safety rather than treating scams as an acceptable cost of business.
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FAQ
How many scam ads does Meta estimate it shows daily
About 15 billion “higher risk” scam advertisements a day
How much of Meta’s revenue comes from scam ads
Internal documents indicated roughly 10 % of 2024 revenue, around $16 billion.
Why hasn’t Meta blocked more scammers
Because enforcement teams face revenue limits and advertisers pay penalty bids instead of being banned.