HCM CITY — Meta has just announced aggressive legal measures to dismantle fraudulent advertising networks, including filing a lawsuit against an ad account owner in Việt Nam for impersonating brands and using technical tricks to misappropriate user assets.

Meta filed a lawsuit against Việt Nam-based Lý Văn Lâm, who used cloaking to circumvent the ad review process. This is a malicious technique that impairs ad review systems by displaying a seemingly legitimate website but showing different content to real users to conceal the true nature of a website linked to an ad.

Lý Văn Lâm used scam ads to offer deeply discounted items from well-known brands, such as Longchamp, in exchange for completing a survey. People who engaged with these ads were redirected to websites where they were asked to provide credit card information to purchase items they ultimately never received. Their credit cards also incurred unauthorised, recurring fees: a practice known as subscription fraud.

Besides legal measures, Meta is improving its methods for detecting cloaking through tools that use AI to help the company analyse cloaking and better detect ads that redirect to harmful websites. These tools also help the company more quickly reject these ads, and Meta can more swiftly take action when users report suspected malicious ads.

In the first half of 2025, Meta detected and took action against nearly 12 million scam-centre-linked accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

In Việt Nam, during the first half of 2025, Meta removed over 5.4 million pieces of content on Facebook and 14,000 pieces of content on Instagram for violating policies on Fraud, Scams, and Deceptive Practices. Over 116,000 Facebook accounts and 28,000 Instagram accounts were suspended for violations, with 65 per cent on Facebook and 93 per cent on Instagram being removed proactively.

Meta recently issued cease and desist letters to eight former Meta Business Partners who offered abusive services, including phony 'un-ban' or account restoration services and renting access to trusted accounts that helped clients evade its enforcement systems. The company will consider taking additional legal action, including litigation, if they don’t comply.

To help combat this kind of abuse in the future and to protect the integrity of its platforms, Meta is reviewing its Business Partner ecosystem and is actively working on enhancing vetting methods for approving these business partnerships.

Meta continues to improve its detection and enforcement methods and has developed a multi-layered approach to combating fraud, which includes using automated, technical defences to help protect people on its apps; disrupting criminal scam networks; and strengthening cross-industry partnerships. — VNS