Meta is enabling scams that target our veterans. It’s time to hold them accountable.

By: Ricardo Reyes

We’ve all seen them. Sometimes they’re obvious. Other times, not so much. They might resemble a video of a celebrity pitching a miracle investment or a deal offered only to veterans or seniors. Predatory, fraudulent ads are flooding our social media feeds and becoming far more difficult to distinguish from real advertisements.

The rise of smarter scam ads and their prevalence across social platforms has a real impact on Arizonans. Our state ranks among the top in the country for online scam losses, with an estimated $2.8 billion lost annually. But while several groups are vulnerable to these types of ads, few are more exposed than veterans.

Arizona is home to roughly half a million vets, among the highest concentrations in the country, and scammers have taken note. By doing things like promising government funds or offering cash for benefits, they steal personal information or sap veterans’ bank accounts. That’s why recent surveys have found that over 20% of veterans have lost money to fraud, with most losing more than $500.

But scam ads are only as successful as the platforms they use to reach their victims. Unfortunately, some of the platforms most frequently used by veterans, such as Facebook, are the worst offenders.

In documents leaked last year, Meta, the holding company for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, projected that 10% of its revenue (around $16 billion) would come from ads for scams and banned goods. Not only that, but Meta themselves estimated that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day.

It’s not that Meta doesn’t know who the bad actors are. It’s that their own system is designed so that scam ads line their pockets. Meta only bans advertisers if its automated systems predict the marketers are at least 95% certain to be committing fraud. If the company is less certain – but still believes the advertiser is likely the work of a scammer – they charge higher ad rates as a penalty. This behavior isn’t just wrong. It’s borderline criminal.

Scam ads on Facebook and Instagram are thriving because legislators in Phoenix are standing idly by. Without action from our legislature, scam ads will continue to harm veteran communities across Arizona. They deserve better.

With the spring legislative session just around the corner, lawmakers must consider the impact of online scam ads on vulnerable communities every day. While we have a long way to go to stop veteran scams entirely, taking action to ensure that platforms do not knowingly display scam ads and actively work to block and ban advertisers who attempt to display them are the right first steps to ensure they don’t reach them.

Let’s do better to protect those who have sacrificed so much for us.

Ricardo Reyes is a United States Marine Corps veteran and first-generation immigrant, born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the oldest of five siblings and a father of three who now fights to secure a better future for everyone