In 2025, Americans reported losses of $2.1 billion to scams that began on social media platforms in the United States. Facebook was the leading source of these losses among social media platforms, ahead of WhatsApp and Instagram.
Social Media Scam Losses
Social media platforms accounted for nearly 30% of all people who lost money to scams in 2025. Losses from scams that started on Facebook alone were higher than losses from scams initiated through text messages or email.
Types of Scams
Investment scams caused $1.1 billion in losses in 2025 and were the costliest category of social media fraud. Shopping scams were the most frequently reported type of social media scam in the same year.
Age-wise Pattern
All age groups except people aged 80 and above reported higher losses from social media scams than from any other contact method in 2025. For people aged 80 and above, social media ranked second after phone call scams.
Meta Internal Documents
Internal Meta documents from November 2024 and May 2025 referred to possible regulatory fines of up to $1 billion for scam advertisements. A February 2026 internal document stated that the team vetting questionable advertisers was limited in actions that could cost Meta more than 0.15% of total revenue, or about $135 million, in the first half of 2025.
Last Modified: April 29, 2026