Meta internally projected that a significant share of its 2024 income — about 10 percent of overall annual revenue, or roughly $16 billion — would come from ads linked to scams or prohibited goods, according to details reported by Reuters following its review of confidential company documents.

The documents, created between 2021 and 2025 across Meta's finance, safety and engineering divisions, reveal the scale of fraudulent content the company knows exists on its platforms. One late-2024 estimate cited by Reuters indicates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users are collectively shown about 15 billion high-risk scam ads every day. Those ads alone contribute around $7 billion in yearly revenue.

Jeff Horwitz, who penned the report for Reuters, writes that Meta's automated systems only ban advertisers when they are assessed to be 95 percent likely to be committing fraud. When the probability is lower — but still suggests rogue activity — Meta may allow the ads and charge the advertiser higher rates, a measure called a "penalty bid." Internally, staff circulated weekly reports on suspected repeat offenders labelled the "Scammiest Scammers."

The investigation also found that Meta has been cautious about enforcement that could impact revenue. One 2025 document referenced by Reuters described "revenue guardrails" limiting the financial hit the company was willing to take when blocking ads that violate policies. Internal presentations acknowledged that regulatory fines for failing to tackle scam activity were seen as manageable compared to the income generated from such ads.

The documents show Meta expects greater regulatory action ahead. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission is examining scam-related financial advertisements on its platforms, Reuters reported. UK regulators previously found Meta services were linked to the majority of payments-related scam losses in 2023.

Meta, in response to Reuters, disputed suggestions that the company knowingly profits from fraud. Spokesman Andy Stone said the internal revenue estimates were "rough and overly-inclusive," and insisted Meta has invested heavily in cutting scam activity. He said user reports of scam ads have fallen 58 percent over the last 18 months, and that more than 134 million scam-related ads have been removed in 2025 to date.

Despite those efforts, internal research cited in the Reuters report shows Meta's platforms are thought to be central to online fraud worldwide. A May 2025 presentation estimated Meta was involved in one-third of successful scams in the United States. Meta's own analysis also concluded it is easier to advertise scams on Meta than on Google, though the documents did not specify why.

According to Reuters, Meta has set targets to reduce revenue from scams and other prohibited ads from around 10.1 percent in 2024 to 7.3 percent next year, and 5.8 percent by 2027. But internal communications suggest reductions are designed to avoid sudden shocks to the company's bottom line, especially as Meta continues significant spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.