Facebook Advertisers Will Have To Verify Identities Following Rise In Scam Ads

By the end of June, all Facebook advertisers will be required to verify their identities by uploading their government-issued ID.

- Osmond Chia

The mandatory verification, initiated by Facebook owner Meta, comes on the heels of a 12 percent increase in reports about scam advertisements on Facebook recorded during a pilot test from June to December 2024.

During that period, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had allowed Facebook to apply the verification requirement only on selected advertisers. If scams remained rampant, MHA would tighten its requirements.

Under a Code of Practice for E-Commerce Services, which took effect in June 2024, designated platforms such as Facebook and Carousell need to roll out measures to protect Singapore users from scams. Between June and December 2024, the platforms needed to verify only the identities of sellers considered "risky".

On March 10, MHA said Facebook was unable to curb the frequency of scam advertisements in the second half of 2024, referring to advertisements that appear in posts across the platform.

The ministry noted that Meta's verification requirements were restricted to paid advertisements, while police statistics on scam advertisements comprise both paid and unpaid posts.

MHA said: "Meta intends to verify the identities of all advertisers on Facebook by end-June 2025. We welcome this and will monitor the situation."