Meta allows repeat scam artists to target seniors, report says

Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is failing to stop scammers who repeatedly buy ads on the platforms to target seniors with scams, a new report says.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is failing to stop some con artists who repeatedly buy ads on the platforms to target seniors with scams, according to a new report.

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The report is due to be released Tuesday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an advocacy and research organization that investigates social media apps. The organization provided an advance copy to NBC News.

The center found that scam ads targeting seniors are widespread on Facebook. Over the past year, ads from 30 of the most active scam accounts generated an estimated 215 million ad impressions on the platform, according to the report. Seventy-three percent of those impressions came from users over 65, the report says.