Meta Files Lawsuits Against Brazil, China, Vietnam Advertisers Over Celebrity Scams

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Meta Takes Action Against Scammers in Brazil, China, and Vietnam

Meta has filed lawsuits against several deceptive advertisers based in Brazil, China, and Vietnam, as part of its efforts to tackle scams on its platforms. The company has also suspended the advertisers’ methods of payment, disabled related accounts, and blocked the website domain names used to carry out the scams.

Celeb-Bait Scams

Among the advertisers targeted by Meta are three individuals and companies that engaged in “celeb-bait” scams, which involve misusing the images of well-known figures to trick people into clicking on fake ads that lead to scam sites. These sites are designed to harvest sensitive data or dupe unsuspecting users into sending money or investing in fake platforms.

Action in Brazil

In Brazil, Meta is suing Vitor Lourenço de Souza and Milena Luciani Sanchez for using altered images and voices of celebrities to promote fraudulent healthcare products. The company is also taking action against B&B Suplementos e Cosméticos Ltda. (Brites Corp), Brites Academia de Treinamento Ltda., Daniel de Brites Macieira Cordeiro, and José Victor de Brites Chaves de Araújo for their involvement in a scam operation that used synthetic imagery of a prominent physician to advertise healthcare products without regulatory approval.

Action in China

In China, Meta is suing Shenzhen Yunzheng Technology Co., Ltd for using celeb-bait ads to target people in various countries, including the U.S. and Japan, as part of a fraud scheme designed to lure them into joining investment groups.

Additional Actions

In addition to these lawsuits, Meta has also issued cease and desist letters to eight marketing consultants who advertised the ability to bypass its ad policy enforcement systems. These consultants offered fake “un-ban” or account restoration services and rented access to trusted accounts to help clients evade Meta’s controls.

Meta has also developed a program to protect the images of celebrities and public figures who are repeatedly used in celeb-bait scams. This program currently protects the images of more than 500,000 individuals around the world.

The Broader Issue of Scams

The company’s efforts to tackle scams come as part of a broader effort to address the issue of deceptive advertising on its platforms. A recent investigation by Reuters found that 19% of Meta’s ad sales in China in 2024 came from ads for scams, illegal gambling, pornography, and other banned content.

An analysis by Gen Digital found that nearly one in three ads running on Meta platforms across the E.U. and U.K. pointed to a scam, phishing, or malware link. The study also found that just 10 advertisers were responsible for over 56% of all observed scam ads, indicating organized, industrial-scale operations rather than isolated bad actors.

Global Efforts to Combat Scams

The issue of scams is not limited to Meta, however. Law enforcement agencies around the world are increasingly taking action against scam networks, including a recent crackdown in Cambodia that resulted in the arrest of 168 people and the deportation of 2,722 others. The Cambodian government has also promised to dismantle cyber scam networks operating within its borders, citing the damage they cause to the country’s reputation and economy.

Malicious Infrastructure and Underground Services

Researchers have identified a number of malicious infrastructure and underground services used to peddle various kinds of scams, including malvertising and pig butchering fraud models. These scams often involve tricking victims into clicking on investment-themed ads on social media, which redirect them to websites that prompt them to engage with supposed experts via messaging apps.

Threat actors are also compromising routers to alter DNS settings and use shadow resolvers hosted in Aeza International, a bulletproof hosting company sanctioned by the U.S. Government in July 2025. This unauthorized modification allows the operators to direct users to scam and malware content using an HTTP-based traffic distribution system.

A malicious push notification network has been observed using a network of malicious domains to target Android Chrome users worldwide with unwanted push notifications, directing them to scam sites and adult content.

A network of over 150 cloned, fake websites has also been identified impersonating real law firms based in the U.S. and the U.K., targeting users looking for legal advice and representation to promote a business impersonation scam.

Conclusion

As the issue of scams continues to evolve, it is clear that a concerted effort is needed to address the problem. By taking action against deceptive advertisers and developing programs to protect users, Meta is taking a step in the right direction. However, more needs to be done to tackle the root causes of these scams and prevent them from happening in the first place.