Fraudulent advertisements using the name and logo of local university Universiti Malaya have been circulating on META platforms such as Facebook and Instagram over the past months. These ads typically promote ‘investment courses’.

Universiti Malaya has issued a warning about the scam ads

The university has released an announcement on social media warning netizens against these impersonation scams.

Other formats of fake investment ads in Malaysia

Another type of scam advertisement commonly circulating in Malaysia wrongfully uses the image of an investment influencer who is well-known in the local scene. They unscrupulously stole the images and videos of the influencer to use as a ‘trusted face’ for their advertisements.

These ads typically invite the public to join a WhatsApp group, claiming it offers exclusive investment tips, when in fact it is part of a scam.

META reportedly earned $17 billion (RM73 billion) from fraudulent ads

Internal documents seen by Reuters indicate that Meta expected around 10% of its 2024 revenue to come from advertisements linked to scams and prohibited products. The company has also internally estimated that users across its platforms are exposed to as many as 15 billion scam-related ads each day.

Previously unreported documents reviewed by Reuters further show that, for at least three years, the social media giant failed to detect and curb a flood of advertisements promoting fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and banned medical products on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, exposing billions of users to such content.

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