Meta earns billions from fraudulent ads — what does this mean for webshops in the Benelux?
New revelations from Reuters show that Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) earns billions of euros from fraudulent advertisements . According to internal documents, in 2024 around 10% of total annual revenue came from scam ads — accounting for billions of impressions per day. Interventions remained limited so as not to harm advertising revenue, the leaked reports reveal.
Source: Reuters Investigations, 6 November 2025
Deepfake ads and European pressure
The findings align with research by the Tech Transparency Project, which shows that deepfake ads using familiar faces are increasingly used for fraud and political manipulation.
At the same time, Meta is under pressure from the European Commission, which states that the platform is violating parts of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Inadequate reporting systems and opaque complaint procedures may lead to fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover.
Effects are also visible in the Benelux: in Belgium and the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands of users have been confronted with fake financial ads on Facebook, often disguised as “investment opportunities” or “well-known entrepreneurs.”
Why this matters for webshops
For online retailers, competition with fraudulent ads can push up the cost per click (CPC) and cost per thousand impressions (CPM). In addition, the presence of scam ads undermines consumer trust in social advertising.
- rising costs due to fraudulent ads on Facebook
- safe advertising on Instagram for e-commerce 2025
- recognizing and blocking deepfake ads
Opinion: the impact in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
Belgium: Due to the large number of financial scam ads, the focus is on transparency and reliability. Webshops would do well to clearly display payment and certification badges (such as Bancontact or Payconiq).
Netherlands: Compliance with DSA rules is being monitored more strictly. Companies need to manage their brand-safety lists and whitelists more thoroughly to avoid reputational damage.
Luxembourg: Smaller markets are hit relatively harder by cross-border fraud. Investing in first-party data and server-side tagging can help, although it brings higher costs — a challenge for smaller shops. Brand safety means ensuring your brand does not appear next to harmful or misleading content. Use blocklists to exclude risk categories and placements (e.g. sensationalism/gossip, crypto scams, adult content). Perform a pre-flight check on all visuals and names: Tip: create a checklist in your project management tool and have both creative and legal review it. Alongside social, you can consider using affiliate marketing, where you pay on a CPS/CPO basis. This shifts media risk toward performance. Result: more predictable ROAS and less dependency on any single platform. This increases conversion and reduces hesitation among new visitors.Practical steps for webshops in 2025 for safe and effective e-commerce advertising
Conclusion
For webshops in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, fraudulent ads are not only a consumer problem but also a financial and reputational risk. By investing in brand safety, transparency, and diversification — including affiliate marketing as a reliable alternative — retailers can maintain their returns and strengthen customer trust.