Meta Takes Legal Action Following Seven Arrests

Celeb-Bait Scams Target Global Users

One of the main tactics involves so-called “celeb bait” ads. Scammers manipulate images, voices or videos of well-known personalities to promote fraudulent healthcare products or lure people into fake investment groups.

Meta says its protection programme now safeguards the images of over 500,000 celebrities and public figures worldwide.

The latest lawsuits target advertisers in Brazil and China. In Brazil, defendants allegedly used altered images and deepfake content to promote unapproved healthcare products. A China-based company is accused of running celebrity-bait investment ads targeting users in the US, Japan and other markets.

For e-commerce brands, the risk is clear: brand reputation and consumer trust can be exploited without their knowledge.

Subscription Fraud And Cloaking

Another case involves a Vietnam-based advertiser accused of using “cloaking” — a technique that shows one version of a webpage to ad reviewers and a different version to users.

Consumers were shown heavily discounted branded goods, including products falsely linked to Longchamp, in exchange for completing surveys. They were then redirected to payment pages, where credit card details were collected. Many never received goods and were charged recurring, unauthorised fees — a practice known as subscription fraud.

Meta says it worked closely with Longchamp to investigate and stop the activity.

Stronger Enforcement And Industry Impact

The company confirmed it has suspended payment methods, disabled accounts, blocked scam domains and shared intelligence with industry partners. It also issued eight cease-and-desist letters to former Meta Business Partners offering abusive services such as fake account restoration.

For European e-commerce businesses, this signals tighter ad scrutiny, but also stronger protection against brand misuse and fraudulent advertising practices.