Australian Regulator Accuses Facebook of Promoting a Cryptocurrency Scam

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has sued Facebook owner Meta for reportedly publishing misleading celebrity scam ads.

According to the ACCC, the advertisements promoted crypto investments and money-making schemes on behalf of well-known Australians who had nothing to do with them.

The ads contained links leading Facebook users to a fake media article that included  statements made by public figures appearing in the advertisement.

Users were then asked to register, after which they were contacted by scammers. They used various tactics to convince them to invest in fake schemes.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said:

“A key part of Meta’s business is enabling advertisers to target users who are most likely to click on a link to go to a landing page. These clicks are generating significant revenue for Facebook.”

The regulator claims Meta did nothing to prevent the fraudulent ads from being posted — they continued to appear on Facebook even after the complaints.