US Senators Press Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Combat Crypto Scams

An FTC study shows 49% of crypto-related frauds originated on social media platforms like Facebook, members of the Senate Banking Committee say.

Sep 9, 2022 at 5:27 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 9, 2022 at 6:20 p.m. UTC

CDCROP: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Testifies Before The House Financial Services Committee (Getty Images) — Senate Banking Committee members wants answers from Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg on crypto scams. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Six Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee have sent a letter to Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking what the company is doing to fight cryptocurrency scams on its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.

The group of senators is led by Bob Menendez of New Jersey and includes Sherrod Brown of Ohio, chairman of the Banking Committee, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

"From Jan. 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022, 49% of fraud reports to the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] involving cryptocurrency specified that the scam originated on social media," the group wrote, noting the scams cost consumers a total of $417 million.

"While crypto scams are prevalent across social media, several of Meta's sites are particularly popular hunting grounds for scammers," the senators added.

The group wants Meta to describe its current policies for proactively finding and removing crypto scammers, spell out its procedures for verifying that crypto ads on its platforms aren't scams and say to what extent it collaborates with law enforcement to track down fraudsters.

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