Internal documents reviewed by Reuters show Meta projected about 10 percent of 2024 revenue from scam and banned‑goods ads. That equates to roughly $16 billion (C$22 billion). The trove describes enforcement thresholds that allowed suspected fraudsters to keep buying ads unless automated systems reached 95 percent certainty. It also flags an estimated 15 billion higher risk scam advertisements shown each day across Facebook and Instagram. Meta disputes those figures and says efforts are improving.
Banks press platform accountability
Australian banks have pressed Meta to curb a wave of celebrity‑bait investment scams and deepen real‑time sharing of suspicious ad data. Between April and October 2024, bank‑run alerts through the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange led Meta to remove around 8,000 celeb‑bait ads. The collaboration reflects a shift toward joint intelligence hubs that funnel actionable reports into takedowns at scale.
Banks argue the burden cannot sit with customers alone. For platforms, the operational question is how to verify payers and beneficiaries at scale, then shut off repeat offenders before they can retool. The coordination model is becoming standard and will shape auditing demands for ad marketplaces.
Australia moves on mandatory codes
Parliament passed the Scams Prevention Framework in February 2025, creating enforceable duties to prevent, detect, disrupt, respond and report scams across designated sectors. Banks, telcos and social media will be designated first, with fines up to A$50 million (C$46 million) and mandated intelligence sharing, according to the ACCC.
“This Bill is a critical step in the fight against scams,” said ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.
In parallel, Meta tightened Australian ad rules in late 2024, requiring financial advertisers to verify who pays and who benefits, and to display clear disclosures. These steps signal where compliance costs and design changes will land first, especially for platforms operating global ad marketplaces.
Incentives and enforcement collide
The leaked playbooks outline penalty pricing for suspected fraudsters and internal guardrails that cap how much revenue enforcement can sacrifice in a given period. If systems cannot reach high confidence, suspected advertisers pay more to win auctions, which can still yield income while aiming to reduce volumes.
Meta counters that the documents “present a selective view that distorts Meta’s approach to fraud and scams,” said spokesperson Andy Stone.
Delivery risk now sits with platforms and their partners, as mandatory codes expand and banks harden payment screening, leaving less tolerance for ad‑funded leakage. Nations are watching, since advertiser verification and cross‑industry intel sharing can migrate quickly through global product roadmaps.