New York Attorney General Letitia James will speak at a press conference at the Attorney General’s Office held in New York City on July 13, 2022.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
A group of 42 state attorney generals is calling on Meta to curb the rise of investment fraud on Facebook that misused images of Warren Buffett and other well-known figures, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday.
James said in a news release that criminals have consistently circumvented Meta’s automated human review system, with retail investors posting fake ads with millions of dollars losing. Her office continues to watch the scam months after reporting to Meta, she added.
Advertising access to Buffett, Elon Musk or Ark Invest’s Kathy Wood has forced Facebook users to join chat groups on WhatsApp, a meta-owned messaging platform.
There, users unconsciously engage in the pump and dump scheme suspicions, with criminals increasing the price of thinly traded stocks, quickly selling for profit, leaving small investors with losses.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is struggling to control the rise of cyber fraud on its platform, and is the “basics of the Internet Fraud Economy” we reported last month. The issue is global in nature, with one notable lawsuit being filed by an Australian billionaire claiming that Meta’s artificial intelligence-run advertising program used likeness to create and amplify false ads.
“Thousands of Facebook users have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to these scams, and Meta has to do more to stop these fraudulent ads from running on the platform,” James said. “I lead a bipartisan coalition calling on Meta to strengthen advertising reviews to stop these scams, and I also urge all New Yorkers to be particularly careful before putting money into investments promoted on social media.”
Enlarge the icon aro and point it outwards
Source: New York State Attorney General’s Office
The AGS urged Meta to increase advertising policing, including more human reviews, and said that Meta should halt investment ads completely, unless it suppresses fraud.
Joined James was AGS in the states, including California, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
META spokesman Andy Stone said that dealing with fraud on the platform requires collaboration between banks, government, law enforcement and telecom companies.
“We’re doing our part, we’re working to test the use of facial recognition technology and invest in technology that helps people protect people with warnings and tools on the platform, educate consumers with popular schemes, and actively implement fraud to protect people in building technology, banks and more,” Stone said.
