My complaint:
I repeatedly see adverts on Facebook featuring celebrities who have got into trouble for revealing links to crypto currency services that provide them with a good steady income.
Recent celebrities include Martin Lewis (who has already taken legal action to prevent his name/image being used) and Sara Cox (BBC Radio 2 presenter).
The adverts that I have seen always link to fake BBC news pages which contain links to crypto currency scammer sites.
One such link is:
https://www.pkqmrn7ifg.digital/COAB/HNCnebNY/?trackingdomainwww.kindomcexclusiveco.comfbpixel2125686667801738clkBDc238EgUKXkJtqb87ea4JlVALQQWlanderLangeninitialCountryGBfunnelFinance%20Phantom:FinancePhantomv2000sub116laId1171fjg9ExkcT1fv3Abt
(screenshot attached in case the page has been taken down)
I have made detailed reports about these adverts on more than an dozen occasions.
Meta’s response is almost invariably that the advertisement has not been taken down because it does not breach their standards.
Suggested solution:
These adverts are easily identifiable because the URLs very clearly are not correct for the sites that they claim to be.
Meta need to have better screening procedures in place to prevent these adverts being posted in the first place.
As long as these adverts continue to appear there will be users who fall for the scam.
I was working in IT when the first Nigerian email scam appeared in the 1980s and variations are still appearing in my inbox today so I have to assume that some naïve people are still being caught out by this old chestnut.
