42 State AGs Urge Meta to Curb Facebook Investment Scams

A bipartisan coalition of 42 state attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Nevada AG Aaron D. Ford, has urged Meta Platforms to strengthen its efforts against fraudulent investment ads on Facebook. These scams commonly use images of well-known figures like Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, and Cathie Wood to lure users into pump-and-dump schemes, where stock prices are artificially inflated and then sold off, causing substantial losses for unsuspecting investors. Despite Meta's current automated and human review systems, scammers frequently bypass these safeguards by frequently changing their ads, resulting in millions of dollars in losses nationwide. The attorneys general are calling for enhanced ad review practices with more rigorous advertiser checks and increased human oversight, warning that if Meta cannot effectively stop these scams, it should suspend investment ads altogether. They emphasize the urgent need for Meta to act to protect users from these fraudulent schemes that exploit social media's reach. Meanwhile, the coalition cautions the public to be cautious about investment opportunities advertised on these platforms.