FTC Impersonation Scam Ads Targeted in 2-0 Rule Vote

The Federal Trade Commission voted 2-0 on September 24 to seek public comment on whether its rule against impersonating governments and businesses should be updated to address the way online platforms optimize ads, a move aimed at FTC impersonation scam ads, the fake government and business pitches flooding social media feeds.

The commission's vote authorized an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, an early formal step that invites the public to weigh in before the agency writes any actual regulation. According to the FTC's announcement, the notice will ask about the financial incentives that push platforms to sell ad-optimization tools, how those tools tune an ad's content and delivery, and what platforms currently do to keep the tools from being used for deceptive advertising. Automated ad placement is a growing theme across the ad industry, from AI voice clone podcast ads to social feeds.

The agency is also asking whether those optimization practices amount to unfair or deceptive conduct, how widespread they are, and whether the answer should be an update to the existing impersonation rule, a separate new rule, or non-regulatory measures. Possible measures listed in the notice include vetting advertisers, monitoring posted ads, investigating suspected impersonation ads, removing confirmed scam ads, and pursuing disciplinary action against the advertisers behind them.

At the heart of the proposal is a shift in who carries the responsibility. The impersonation rule has traditionally punished the scammer doing the impersonating. The new notice asks whether platforms should carry duties of their own, since their ad-optimization systems decide which ads reach which users and profit from that spread. Possible obligations discussed for social media sites, search engines, and digital marketplaces would aim to stop fraudulent ads from reaching consumers in the first place.

Why platforms are in the crosshairs

"Consumers increasingly rely on a small number of dominant digital platforms for everyday transactions, from shopping, banking and travel bookings to accessing government services," Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement reported by the ABA Banking Journal. "Yet these platforms are the very places fraudsters seek out consumers, exploiting their trust while platforms profit from optimizing and disseminating scam ads."

The FTC said impersonation scams have topped its fraud-complaint list in recent years. Its press release said the agency received more than one million impersonation-scam reports in 2025, with consumers reporting losses of nearly $3.5 billion.

These ads show up where people spend their time: short-video apps, messaging platforms, and search results. It is the latest front in a running fight over platform responsibility, following moves like Discord's new age-verification rollout. Common versions mimic delivery services, banks, crypto exchanges, and government programs, using familiar logos and urgent language to push a click before anyone checks the sender.

Nearly 30 percent of consumers who reported losing money to scammers last year said they were first contacted on social media, with the reported losses on those contacts reaching $2.1 billion, according to the agency's release. Those numbers explain why the commission is looking past the scammers themselves and at the business model that helps their ads reach more victims.

What comes next for the rule

The notice covering FTC impersonation scam ads will be published in the Federal Register, and comments will be due 60 days after publication. Submitted comments will be posted on Regulations.gov, giving consumer groups, platforms, and advertisers a public say before the FTC decides whether to move ahead with a formal proposal.

Banks are already cheering the move. The American Bankers Association has long urged lawmakers to pass the SCAM Act, which would require social media companies to verify advertisers' identities, build systems to detect fraudulent ads, and investigate and remove them. In a statement, ABA president and CEO Rob Nichols welcomed the FTC announcement, according to the ABA Banking Journal.

The 2-0 vote suggests agreement that the problem is worth exploring, even if commissioners could differ later on what any final rule should require. For now, the takeaway for readers is simple: if an ad in your feed claims to be from your bank, a government agency, or a brand you recognize, treat it with suspicion and look up the company or agency directly instead of clicking through.