Meta introduces new requirements for verifying financial services advertisements in Australia as it seeks to tackle the rise of fraudulent ads that “lure in celebrities” by using fake star endorsements to attract unsuspecting victims.
Fake Taylor Swift Ad
As seen in this example, scammers are illegally using images of major celebrities to promote their products or deceive users.
These types of fraudulent ads, which you’ve likely seen online, have become a significant problem. Now, under the updated agreement with Australian regulators, Meta is taking additional steps to address such issues among Australian users.
As reported by The Guardian:
“Starting in early February, Meta will require advertisers wishing to place financial services ads to verify beneficiary and payer information. Companies will need to provide a financial services license number in Australia or declare an exemption. Individuals will need to provide government-issued identification.”
Meta describes these changes in more formal business terms:
“Starting in February 2025, ads falling under the Australian Online Fraud Code, including financial product or service ads for users in Australia, must comply with Meta’s verification and disclaimer requirements before being published on the Meta platform,” the statement reads.
The Australian Online Fraud Code has been signed by all major online advertising platforms and includes a set of agreed measures to combat fraud and report fraudulent activity on their apps.
Australian Fraud Code
These measures are now extending to official requirements for financial service providers in the region.
The updated requirements are similar to those Meta has already implemented for financial advertising in Taiwan and the UK.
Why not roll out these changes across all regions?
Meta is taking additional steps to combat fraud involving celebrities, including launching new facial selection processes to filter out such ads.
However, under current legislation, Meta is not yet required to implement the same restrictions in all regions. Therefore, it can be assumed that Meta is happy to continue profiting from ads until it faces new regulatory restrictions that may slow down the spread of such ad campaigns.
