Meta is testing the use of facial recognition technology to detect and prevent celeb-bait ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Scammers, in a scheme called 'celeb-bait', use images of content creators or celebrities to bait people into engaging with ads that lead to scam websites, where they are asked to share personal information or send money.
From January to September 2024, Australians reported $208.2m in losses from scams on social media to Scamwatch, with close to $125m relating to fake investment scams.
Meta already has automated technology to help detect these fake ads such as its ad review system.
But still the ads are not always easy to detect.
Now Meta is adding a new way of detecting celeb-bait scams, using facial recognition technology to compare faces in the ad to the public figure’s Facebook and Instagram profile pictures.
If the technology confirms a match and determine the ad is a scam, it will be blocked.
Early testing with a small group of celebrities and public figures showed promising results in increasing the speed and efficacy to enforce against this type of scam, Meta said.
In the coming weeks, Meta will start showing in-app notifications to a larger group of public figures who’ve been impacted by celeb-bait letting them know they are enrolled in this protection.
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