Michigan AG Warns: Investment Scams Spreading on Facebook and WhatsApp

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel stated that people’s life savings are being siphoned off every day – money from retirement accounts, college funds, emergency savings – gone in the blink of an eye. Nessel stressed, “Meta needs to do more. It cannot be stagnant and at the same time amass huge profits from the ads they put out, which scammers use to take advantage of their unsuspecting users.”

As per Nessel, the primary source of counterfeit and deceitful investment ads according to Facebook and WhatsApp and a group of 41 other attorneys general is social media. They look authentic in the beginning and, thus, tend to be more deceiving, as they are designed to lure in people who are unaware. This is made possible with just a click, without the user needing to know anything about the company or digital currencies.

The illegal nature of these actions was what led the 18 states’ representatives to join together in writing a letter to Facebook’s parent company demanding action. Their requirements were a reinforcement of the initial policy for advertisements to be approved; they also wanted to add a human factor to the ads verification process, not solely computer systems. In addition, the AGs also asked for a complete ban on investment ads until such point that they become safe to run again.

Nessel also gave some tips on how to protect yourself:

• A list of domain names which can be sued for fake rendering and the rule that WHOIS will serve as a verification tool.
• Do not entertain unsolicited pitches, especially coming from social media or unknown numbers.
• Never be lured by investment tips with an attractive reward or secret opportunities which are prevalent online.
• You should not be deceived by the sense of urgency. Scammers will try to get you to “invest now” to raise suspicion.
• Look at the fake celebrity ads for the lead. Using a well-known face is not a confirmation of its authenticity.

Basically, a sophisticated ad, a sense of urgency, and an unexpected appearance imply fraud. Be critical, be smart, and always verify everything before venturing into investing – especially on social media.