According to recent findings, social media platforms might have little motivation to combat fraudulent advertisements since they collectively rake in billions annually from these ads targeting European users.

Research conducted by Juniper Research, commissioned by fintech company Revolut, indicates that these platforms accumulate around £3.8 billion each year from deceptive advertising alone.

This staggering figure suggests that last year, scams accounted for approximately 10% of the total social media advertising revenue across Europe.

Many scammers exploit social media to reach potential victims, often through ads conveniently hosted on these platforms.

These deceptive campaigns frequently involve counterfeit products, services, or investment opportunities, with scammers impersonating reputable organizations or popular personalities using sophisticated deepfake technology.

This is Money has previously highlighted these deepfake scam ads, particularly those promoting fake investment schemes, as part of our ongoing efforts to combat scams proliferating on social media.

Earnings from hosting scam adverts could rise to £8.9billion by 2030, with total impressions reaching 1.4 trillion in Europe

Research from the Advertising Standards Authority indicates 64 per cent of people are already concerned about scam advertising, but the body received only 2,589 reports of scams in 2025.

However, this is already a widespread and growing problem.

In the UK, scam adverts generated £430.4million in revenue last year for social media platforms, the study from Juniper Research, indicates. 

This is 9.3 per cent of the total European revenue from these scam adverts, with France and Germany accounting for similar figures.

But those in the UK typically lose more – second only to the Irish, with £1,258 of losses per scam in 2025. 

Revolut says the significant financial benefit platforms gain from scammers targeting their users means they are effectively incentivised to host scam adverts.

As a result of these scams being hosted on social media platforms, the average user sees 190 scam adverts per month, accounting for one trillion views in total across 2025.

This figure is forecast to increase to 250 per month by 2030 based on current trends, Revolut said. 

The UK saw the second highest number of scam advert views in Europe, at 95billion in 2025, behind 107billion in France.

This means that earnings from hosting scam adverts could rise to £8.9billion by 2030, with total impressions reaching 1.4 trillion in Europe.

This is 9.3 per cent of the total European revenue from these scam adverts, with France and Germany accounting for similar figures

Speaking at Revolut’s Fincrime summit, Lord Hanson, the minister for fraud, said: ‘We need to look at some basic minimum standards of performance by tech companies.

‘We need to ensure internationally that we really put some heat into that system and make sure we put some international challenges in to bring tech companies into line to reduce that level of fraud.’

The US Senate recently unveiled new legislation that will seek to crack down on fraudulent adverts on social media, with platforms required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent these scams from being advertised to users.

While the Online Safety Act that was passed in 2023 means platforms are legally required to take down scam adverts, the regulator Ofcom has delayed the rollout of duties designed to combat fraudulent advertising until mid-2026.

Its consultation on duties covering scam advertising won’t take place until the summer, with a full code of practice not expected until 2027.

Juniper says the social media platforms within scope for its study include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.

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