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North Carolina's Attorney General urging Meta to crack down on deceptive Facebook ads

PRE News & Ideas | By Annette Weston
Published June 16, 2025 at 10:52 AM EDT
U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson won the Democratic primary for North Carolina attorney general on Tuesday and will take on U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop in the general election this November.
Photo: Jeff Jackson for Attorney General campaign
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson.

North Carolina’s attorney general and 41 others are urging Meta to crack down on deceptive Facebook ads luring users into so-called “pump-and-dump” investment schemes and conning them out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson said, “Scammers are using fake Facebook ads to trick people into losing millions in scam investments.”

Clicking on the ads directs the users to join a WhatsApp group, where the scammers continue the scheme by urging victims to buy stocks to rapidly inflate the share prices. After “pumping up” the price of the stock, the scammers will “dump” their shares, causing the prices to fall and leaving victims unable to get their money back.

The bipartisan group of attorneys general is asking Meta to either strengthen its advertisement review practices to prevent these ads from being shown to Facebook users or remove all investment ads from the platform.

Read the letter to Meta HERE.
Annette Weston
Annette is originally a Midwest gal, born and raised in Michigan, but with career stops in many surrounding states, the Pacific Northwest, and various parts of the southeast. An award-winning journalist and mother of four, Annette moved to eastern North Carolina in 2019 to be closer to family – in particular, her two young grandchildren. It’s possible that a -27 day with a -68 windchill in Minnesota may have also played a role in that decision. In her spare time, Annette does a lot of kiddo cuddling, reading, and producing the coolest Halloween costumes anyone has ever seen. She has also worked as a diversity and inclusion facilitator serving school districts and large corporations. It’s the people that make this beautiful area special, and she wants to share those stories that touch the hearts of others. If you have a story idea to share, please reach out by email to westona@cravencc.edu.
See stories by Annette Weston