Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

Scale and definition of “scam”

• Many argue 10% scam/banned-goods revenue sounds low; if you include overhyped, misleading, or low-quality products, they think the “real” share is far higher.
• Others distinguish outright criminal fraud (fake investments, deepfakes, stolen images, non‑delivery) from legally gray “snake oil” (overpromised supplements, get‑rich‑quick dropshipping, manipulative pricing).
• Several comments claim that much of modern consumer advertising, finance, and even parts of “AI” and crypto are scam‑adjacent in practice.

User experiences across platforms

• Numerous reports of blatantly fraudulent ads on Meta: fake investment schemes, deepfake celebrity promos, ketamine and counterfeit money sales, escort and porn ads, blackmail/“sextortion” scams, marketplace fraud.
• Similar stories on YouTube: crypto wallet drains, AI‑generated miracle products, “chum box” scam ads, and paid “promoted videos” that are essentially tutorials for theft. Some users, however, mostly see mainstream brand ads and almost no scams.
• Amazon, other marketplaces, and app stores are described as saturated with counterfeits, unsafe products, deceptive pack sizes, and copy‑pasted AliExpress goods. Some avoid buying safety‑critical or health products there entirely.

Platform incentives and internal policies

• Core theme: big ad platforms have strong incentives not to fix scam ads. Moderation costs money and cutting scams cuts revenue.
• One cited report claims Meta internally protected high‑spend scam advertisers above a revenue threshold, implying deliberate tolerance rather than technical limits.
• Some suggest honest advertisers and publishers are undercut by scammers willing to overspend and accept higher risk.

Regulation, liability, and Section 230

• Strong push from some to hold platforms legally liable for scam ads, likening them to banks handling cartel money or malls renting space to fake bank branches.
• Disagreement over Section 230: some want it repealed or narrowed for advertising; others warn that would devastate forums and user‑generated content without necessarily stopping fraud.
• Proposed fixes include: explicit liability for fraudulent advertising, mandatory identity or financial “security deposits” for advertisers, and treating platforms as accomplices if they keep profiting after notice.

User defenses and societal responses

• Heavy emphasis on ad blockers (uBlock Origin, DNS‑level blocking, specialized browsers) as “foundational security.”
• Parents plan to teach children that online ads are generally untrustworthy; some set up family passphrases to counter deepfake calls.
• Broader sentiment that ad‑driven social media is degrading trust, fueling scams at scale, and that paying for ad‑free or alternative platforms is one of the few levers individuals have—though many doubt this will be widely adopted.