Fake ads and scams on Meta are serious in Japan. Many celebrities including a Japanese billionaire entrepreneur are furious about their names being used, resulting in damage to victims. Meta, Facebook’s operator, has announced that online fraud is “a threat to society as a whole.”

Meta, Facebook’s operator, said on April 17 that online ads that impersonate celebrities with the use of their pictures are a threat to the entire society and that it will continue to take measures to address them.

The tech giant said that it is working with law enforcement authorities to eradicate scam on its platform.

Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Maezawa Yusaku, whose photos were used in ads for investment scams on Facebook, expressed strong anger following the announcement.

Maezawa said on his X account that he has received reports of financial damages totaling 2 billion yen due to such ads. 

He has been asking Meta to delete the ads and issue an apology for him.

Maezawa posted on X that if Facebook’s review team is made up of people who understand Japanese and Japanese culture, then it should be able to quickly identify fraudulent ads that use celebrities.