No. of Recommendations: 6
Watch out for scam ads on Facebook, or even strange messages from your friend's hacked accounts.
Alternatives to Facebook: Mastodon Diaspora MeWe
Pew Research's survey looked for six online scams:
credit card fraudulent charge
online purchase never arrived and was not refunded
personal online account was hacked
scam email, text message or call that led them to give away personal information
ransomware blocked use of their computer
gave money to a fake online investment opportunity
About 22% said they’ve experienced two of six, and the same share say three or more. The FTC estimated the overall cost of fraud was about $100 billion in 2023.
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Protecting Older Consumers 2023–2024 A Report of the Federal Trade Commission
"For example, the FTC’s data analysis of reports filed by consumers nationwide helps the agency identify, understand, and address patterns and trends related to older adults, including estimating the overall cost of fraud to older adults. In 2023, the FTC estimates the overall loss, adjusted for underreporting, was $158.3 billion or $23.7 billion for consumers of all ages and $61.5 billion or $7.1 billion for older adults. These estimates are based on two different assumptions about the degree of underreporting for high dollar losses. ...
During this past fiscal year, the FTC has continued its efforts to develop tools to enhance its law enforcement efforts after the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG Capital Management. There, the court held that the FTC lacked the authority to seek equitable monetary relief in cases brought under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act. Historically, the FTC had employed its Section 13(b) authority to seek and subsequently provide billions of dollars in monetary relief to consumers affected by unfair or deceptive acts or practices, including older adults. The FTC continues to urge Congress to amend Section 13(b) of the FTC Act to provide the FTC the ability to seek equitable monetary remedies so it can provide refunds to harmed consumers and prevent violators from benefitting from their schemes by keeping their illegally gained profits."
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/feder...====
Online Scams and Attacks in America Today, July 31, 2025
"We asked Americans if six different types of online scams or attacks had happened to them. Overall, about three-quarters (73%) say at least one has, with 32% saying it’s happened in the past year.1
Of the six, Americans most commonly report that online hackers made fraudulent charges on their credit or debit card. About half of U.S. adults (48%) report this has happened to them.
Roughly a quarter to a third report that three other types of scams happened to them:
36% say they purchased an item online that never arrived or was counterfeit and it was not refunded.
29% say a personal online account was hacked, such as a social media, email or bank account.
24% say they got a scam email, text message or call that led them to give away personal information.
One-in-ten or fewer say the remaining two scams and online attacks happened:
10% say that ransomware blocked use of their computer until they paid money.
7% say they gave money to a fake online investment opportunity, such as for real estate or stocks.
Many Americans have had multiple types of online scams happen to them. About one-in-five (22%) say they’ve experienced two of six, and the same share say three or more."
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/07/31/on...=====
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show, November 6, 2025
"Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, documents seen by Reuters show. And the social media giant internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day. Among its responses to suspected rogue marketers: charging them a premium for ads – and issuing reports on ’Scammiest Scammers.’ ...
The documents further note that users who click on scam ads are likely to see more of them because of Meta’s ad-personalization system, which tries to deliver ads based on a user’s interests. ... At the same time, the documents indicate that Meta’s own research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy. A May 2025 presentation by its safety staff estimated that the company’s platforms were involved in a third of all successful scams in the U.S. Meta also acknowledged in other internal documents that some of its main competitors were doing a better job at weeding out fraud on their platforms. ...
The documents make clear that Meta aims to reduce its illicit revenue stream in the future. But the company is concerned that abrupt reductions of scam advertising revenue could affect its business projections, according to a 2025 document that discusses the impact of “violating revenue” – income from ads that violate Meta’s standards, such as scams, illegal gambling, sexual services or dubious health products. ...
Every six months, Meta earns $3.5 billion from just the portion of scam ads that “present higher legal risk,” the document says, such as those falsely claiming to represent a consumer brand or public figure or demonstrating other signs of deceit. That figure almost certainly exceeds “the cost of any regulatory settlement involving scam ads.” ...
“I thought I was talking to a trusted friend who has a really good reputation,” Lavery told Reuters about the recruiter’s hijacked Facebook account. “Because of that, my guard was down.”“I thought I was talking to a trusted friend who has a really good reputation,” Lavery told Reuters about the recruiter’s hijacked Facebook account. “Because of that, my guard was down.”"
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/meta-is-ear... 