CONCORD, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and a bipartisan coalition of 41 state attorneys general are turning up the pressure on Meta, demanding that the tech giant take stronger action to stop scam investment ads on Facebook.

The officials are sounding the alarm over a flood of fraudulent ads that impersonate high-profile investors and financial firms, baiting unsuspecting users into pump-and-dump schemes. These scams have cost victims hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide.

According to a joint letter sent to Meta, the fraudulent Facebook ads feature unauthorized images of Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Cathie Wood, and others to lend credibility to offers of unusually high investment returns. Once users click the ads, they’re funneled into WhatsApp groups and subjected to high-pressure sales tactics, fake consultations, and ultimately, stock manipulation schemes.

“Protecting consumers from fraud is a basic responsibility. These deceptive ads are not just misleading, they are financially devastating to hardworking Granite Staters,” said Attorney General Formella in the official press release issued Thursday. “We’ve seen far too many individuals fall victim to scams that promise quick returns and end in serious losses. Meta must take stronger action to stop these fraudulent investment ads before they reach users. Our message is simple: If Meta can’t ensure the safety and legitimacy of financial advertising on its platforms, it shouldn’t run these ads at all.”

The letter comes after troubling reports from the New York Attorney General’s office, including one case where a victim lost more than $100,000 to a fake ad claiming to represent a reputable investment firm. In another incident, a state investigator joined a WhatsApp group promoted through one of these ads and received a phone call from a scammer using AI voice technology to disguise her identity.

Despite Meta’s reliance on automated systems and occasional human moderation to weed out scams, the coalition says those systems are routinely outmaneuvered. Even months after submitting reports, fraudulent investment ads continued to appear, they noted.

The attorneys general are calling for Meta to implement tougher safeguards, including more rigorous vetting of advertisers and mandatory human review for investment-related content. If Meta cannot guarantee user safety, the letter urges the company to “cease running investment advertisements altogether.”

The full press release is available via the New Hampshire Department of Justice.