Overview
- Meta filed civil lawsuits on Feb. 26 against four advertisers in Brazil, China and Vietnam accused of using celebrity images, deepfakes and cloaking to push fraudulent healthcare, investment and fake luxury‑goods offers.
- Brazil-based defendants allegedly promoted unapproved health products with altered voices and deepfakes, China-based Shenzhen Yunzheng allegedly funneled users into so‑called investment groups, and Vietnam-based Lý Văn Lâm allegedly ran survey‑linked Longchamp ads tied to subscription fraud.
- The company said it suspended the scammers’ payment methods, disabled related accounts and blocked associated domains, and it issued cease‑and‑desist letters to eight former Meta Business Partners accused of offering abusive evasion services.
- Meta reports protections now cover images of more than 500,000 public figures and that new AI tools are detecting cloaking patterns to reject suspicious ads faster.
- No criminal charges have been announced in connection with the new cases, and criticism from impersonated oncologist Drauzio Varella plus prior reporting on scam-linked ads highlights ongoing concerns about Meta’s enforcement.