Facebook could face fresh legal action to defend its record on scammers. Consumer watchdog ACCC has revealed its investigation into Facebook's parent company Meta is in the "very advanced" stages. 

The ACCC says scams on social media mislead customers, which is against consumer law. ACCC chairman Rod Sims said a key issue in the investigation is whether the social media giant has done enough to get rid of scammers from its platform. 

Scams have hit record highs during the pandemic, with criminals luring Australians with advertising on well-known social media and internet platforms. Scamwatch figures show Australians lost more than $320 million dollars to scams last year, which is almost double the losses recorded in 2020. 

But under-reporting means the true cost of scams is likely far higher. Investment scams and dating scams are among the most common ways for people to be tricked into losing their money. Mr Sims said digital platforms need to take greater responsibility for the content they make available. 

A spokesperson for Meta said the company does not want scams on their platforms and encourages users to report them.

- CyberBeat