Scambook
How Meta helps Medicare scammers target seniors
"Don't be an idiot. Claim it now,” says a Facebook ad featuring a deepfake of Oprah Winfrey. The ad promises an allowance card to cover food, rent, and gas, but the amount is overstated. Scammers created the ad to mislead and deceive seniors. Meta earned $14.3 million from ads like this. Meanwhile, scammers could’ve taken personal information from older Americans or pushed them into worse-off healthcare plans. These deceptive practices violate several of Meta’s policies—from offering misleading perks to impersonating government agencies and using deepfakes of politicians and celebrities for false endorsements. In 2025, Americans reported losing more than $2 billion to scams that began on social media. More was lost on Facebook than on any other platform, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Meta has the tools to stop this, but instead, the company prioritizes profit. Congress must step up and protect American citizens.
