Fake Trump and Oprah ads fuel a wave of Medicare scams on Facebook, report says

FIRST ON NBC NEWSSecuritySecurityFacebook allows repeat scam artists to send ads to seniors, researchers sayA new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate finds that 30 of the most active scam accounts on Facebook generated about 215 million impressions in the last year.In scam ads viewed by the researchers, viewers were promised free money via Medicare. Justine Goode / NBC News; Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 11, 2026, 10:00 PM EDTBy David IngramMeta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is failing to stop some con artists who repeatedly buy ads on the platforms to target seniors with scams, according to a new report.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The report is due to be released on Tuesday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an advocacy and research organization that investigates social media apps. The organization provided an advance copy to NBC News.The center found that scam ads targeting seniors are widespread on Facebook. Over the past year, ads from 30 of the most active scam accounts generated an estimated 215 million ad impressions on the platform, according to the report. Seventy-three percent of those impressions came from users over 65, the report says.Many of the ads lean on fake images or videos of celebrities, including President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, television host Oprah Winfrey, entertainer Steve Harvey, actor Brad Pitt and cartoon character Bart Simpson, according to the report and copies of the ads reviewed by NBC News in Meta’s public ad library.The ads share a common goal: persuading the viewer to click a link to a website or call a phone number. “Don’t be an idiot. Claim it now,” an ad highlighted in the report said, promoting $3,600 in free groceries, rent and gas through Medicare. But after they click through, victims don’t see the riches they’re promised. Instead, their personal data is collected, or they’re steere...