Meta fails to block senior scams

NBC News reported on May 11 that repeat scam advertisers were still buying Facebook and Instagram ads aimed at older users, despite Meta’s long-running public claims that it removes fraudulent promotions. The report, based on research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate and ad examples reviewed in Meta’s public library, said the ads pushed investment schemes, fake Medicare offers and tech-support style lures. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company was reviewing the findings and said scammers use “increasingly sophisticated tactics” to evade detection. The episode lands as regulators and prosecutors intensify scrutiny of how social platforms police paid advertising and whether older users remain especially exposed. ### How did NBC and the researchers say the scam ads worked? The Center for Countering Digital Hate said 30 of the most active scam accounts on Facebook generated an estimated 215 million ad impressions over the past year, and 73% of those impressions went to users older than 65. NBC reported that many of the ads used fake images or videos of public figures including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Harvey and Brad Pitt, then urged users to click a link or call a number. NBC said the pitches often promised “free” Medicare-linked cash, groceries, rent help or gas money, but the goal was to collect personal data or steer people into inferior insurance arrangements. The same report said similar tactics are also common in investment fraud, where social posts and ads are used to draw people into fake trading programs or adviser networks. (nbcnews.com) ### What did Meta say it was doing about the problem? Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said on May 11 that the company was examining the report and that it “aggressively” fights scams on and off its platforms. Stone said Meta removed more than 159 million scam ads last year and that 92% were taken down before anyone reported them. (nbcnews.com) Meta’s response did not dispute that the ads identified by NBC and the researchers had appeared in its systems. The Center for Countering Digital Hate said the more significant problem was recurrence: ads or advertisers removed by Meta could return in near-identical form, according to CEO Imran Ahmed’s statement to NBC. (nbcnews.com) ### Why are older adults central to this story? The Federal Trade Commission said in a December 2025 report to Congress that fraud losses reported by adults 60 and older rose from about $600 million in 2020 to $2.4 billion in 2024. The FTC said older adults in 2024 reported losing far more money to investment scams than to any other fraud category, and those scams often started on social media. (nbcnews.com) The FTC also said older adults were much more likely than younger adults to report losses from tech-support scams, prize and sweepstakes scams, romance scams and government impersonation scams. The FBI said in its April 23, 2025 release on the 2024 IC3 report that people over 60 suffered the largest losses of any age group, at nearly $5 billion. (ftc.gov) ### Is this only a Facebook problem, or part of a wider fraud pattern? The FTC said on April 27, 2026 that social media was the costliest contact method for scams in 2025, with reported losses reaching $2.1 billion. The agency said nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam said it started on social media, and that Facebook accounted for more reported losses than any other social platform. (ftc.gov) FTC data said investment scams accounted for $1.1 billion of those social-media-linked losses in 2025, more than half the total. The agency also said scammers can use the same ad-targeting tools as legitimate businesses, including targeting by age, interests or shopping behavior. (ftc.gov) ### What legal and policy pressure is building around Meta now? Santa Clara County said on May 11 that it filed a civil complaint against Meta in Superior Court, alleging the company knowingly facilitated and profited from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram. The county said the complaint cites Meta’s internal tracking of as many as 15 billion scam ads shown daily across its platforms and an estimated $7 billion in annual “violating revenue,” which the county described as revenue from fraudulent or otherwise prohibited advertising. (ftc.gov) Tony LoPresti, the county counsel, said in the county announcement that the suit seeks to hold Meta accountable for ads that allegedly defrauded seniors, families and small businesses. Meta had not publicly filed a detailed court response as of May 14. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) ### What comes next for users, watchdogs and Meta? Meta said on May 11 that it was reviewing the NBC findings, and any additional removals or policy changes would likely show up first in company statements or in its public ad and enforcement disclosures. NBC’s reporting points readers to Meta’s ad library as the public record of ads that ran, while the FTC and FBI continue to publish fraud data and complaint guidance for victims. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) Santa Clara County’s lawsuit, filed May 11 in Santa Clara County Superior Court, is the next named proceeding to watch. The FTC’s social-media scam data release of April 27, 2026 and the FBI’s next IC3 reporting cycle are the next public benchmarks likely to add detail on whether losses tied to these schemes keep rising. (news.santaclaracounty.gov) (nbcnews.com)