Meta is beefing up its Brands Rights Protection tool that allows businesses to monitor and report misuse of their brand across ads and organic content on Facebook and Instagram.
This includes providing brands with the ability to report scam ads at scale, even when it does not explicitly use their intellectual property.
This includes suspected scams and misleading ads that exploit a brand’s name without authorisation.
Meta said this will enable businesses to better protect their brands and customers from potential scams.
In addition to scaling Brand Rights Protection, Meta has redesigned the takedown request experience by minimising the required steps. Meta said the reporting experience is more intuitive and user-friendly, making it easier for brands to manage and execute takedown requests.
In 2024, Meta said that it had removed more than 157 million pieces of ad content globally across Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies against Fraud, Scam, and Deceptive Practices or Unacceptable Business Practices.
Scam ads targeting Aussies
Scam ads have targeted several high profile Australians on Meta platforms, including mining moguls Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart, footballer Sam Kerr and TV personalities Eddie McGuire, Allison Langdon, Karl Stefanovic and David Koch.
The ads are often phishing for sensitive personal data or providing links to dodgy crypto sites.
The social media platform has also been targeted by criminals running AI generated deepfake nude ads on its platforms.
It’s not just brands that are being targeted by criminals; fraudulent user accounts are widely reported and often difficult to take down.
In 2024, the Australian government released the Scams Prevention Framework, which established principles that require organisations including social media companies, banks and telcos to prevent, detect, report, disrupt and respond to scam ads.
Organisations that ignore the new laws face fines of up to $50 million.
