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Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

sherwood.news

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Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#301
post #16

Alongside a password manager and keeping things up to date, using an ad blocker is truly a foundational security practice these days. The big advertising players simply have all of the wrong incentives to control this problem. They could massively reduce the volume of scams advertised on their networks, but it’d be worse for them on two fronts: they’d have to pay for more moderation, and they’d lose billions in reven…

I don't see how the yearly tech support I do with my parents at Christmas will not one day converge to an outright ban of the internet. I am now demoing the level of sofistication of AI powered scams, telling them that it is now entirely possible they will get a VIDEO CALL from me that's not actually me asking for God knows what in a very convincing way using my face and voice. I am scared and this close to setting u…

> I am scared and this close to setting up a secret passphrase in case they need to tell me appart from a clone.

do that sooner rather than later.

Voice mimicry is so much easier now, that you might not be able to tell from the phone. This is why a verbal password from family is important, esp. in unusual situations.

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#302
post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most recent was recent: about two months ago. Though as mentioned, I find it very easy to believe this will vary by location and account for various reasons.

I order a lot from Amazon--especially over the past year for house-related reasons. I just haven't had (touch wood) the apparently pervasive problems that some people seem to experience. Maybe I'm more selective about not picking whatever is cheapest regardless of brand that I've never heard of.

My preferred brands on Amazon are Qweasdooo, I999admm, and Growthyy. Fantastic stuff at unbeatable prices! /s

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#303
post #274
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a situation we accept out of other industries. You water provider doesn't get to pipe you sewage every now and again because its too expensive to moderate. We shouldn't accept it for big tech either. And we certainly shouldn't make it the responsibility of the end use to protect themselves

The permitted number of rat parts per pound of breakfast cereal is not zero.

Rat parts are in RFK Jr's food pyramid for America.

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#304
post #52

Meta is cooked. It's not just scam portion - their entire strategy is in trouble FB - nobody I know actively uses it anymore. Insta - is being overrun with AI slop and given meta's stated goal of adding more AI interactions on their platforms I doubt they'll even try to get a grip on it let alone succeed Whatsapp & FB messenger - some use but has zero moat over other messengers. It's a completely fungible service in…

The will just buy their next move. You're not cooked when you're a trillionaire; you never are or will be.*

*Unless you steal from other wealthy folks.

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#305
I tried to get Kickstarter to take down an obvious scam a while back. Best I could do was post on Reddit to warn folks though.

Checked on it recently, so many comments of folks asking for shipping details / anything. Hundreds of thousands of dollars just scammed from folks. And they're still raising / stringing folks along.

It's wild.

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#307
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get 50% AI generated tai chi promising strength gain, weight loss and enlightenment, the other 50% israel sponsored ads assuring me people in gaza are not starving at all and completely healthy

I pay for YouTube so all I get is paid creator promotions for VPNs and Squarespace unless it's someone being sent a free thing in exchange for a review Normalize paying for things instead of selling your attention to the highest bidder.

Normalize paying for things instead of selling your attention to the highest bidder.

But you just admitted that you pay for YouTube and it shows you creator promotions. You are literally paying to see ads, then telling people not to do the same.

Unless there's some subtlety I'm missing here. I haven't been on YouTube in at least a decade. I see no difference between a blogger pushing a VPN and Google showing an ad for a VPN.

The big draw for cable TV was that you could watch TV without ads. Then ads started appearing on cable and people said it's OK, because the content is higher quality and not available elsewhere. Then that changed, and now there is no difference between broadcast, cable/satellite, and streaming services. Except that you don't have to pay for broadcast. (Yet. It's coming.)

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I never understand why well-paid HN commentators refuse to pay for their entertainment. People don't want to pay (help) people they don't like. YouTube ads do not feel fair, they feel manipulative and unethical. It's expected that most people wouldn't want to willingly engage with that kind of asshattery. Contrast that with platforms like twitch. I'd say the average twitch viewer (that interacts with streams/chats)…

I don't pay because it feels like paying protection money to the mafia. "Here's an annoyance/danger we created for you. If you pay us, we'll stop doing it."

on the other hand, it's how their business model is able to work? People get wayyyy more views on YouTube than they do on Patreon or federated platforms or Nebula or Floatplane or or or or or or or

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#309
post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People's first instinct is to attack the thing they don't like directly. The second instinct should be to consider the system in which those things arise, and what the incentives are for everyone involved. If you have a roomful of loud children, you could apply draconian rules on silence; or, if you notice there is no sound-deadening and so the children are unwittingly participating in a positive feedback loop to be…

Wonder how it would sound if we would use the same paragraph about "deregulation". > Deregulation always seems simple, but there are inevitable unintended consequences. Sadly, those who see deregulation as the only or best tool to shape behavior are quick to suggest yet more deregulation to fix those unintended consequences ... Which sounds more reasonable: "Deregulation always seems simple" or "Regulation always see…

>I personally don't think there is one optimum that we can reach.

I agree with this, and the containing paragraph. Everything is trade-offs. It may very well be that Facebook is under-regulated (and it probably is the case). I suppose I'm thinking of ways to use the situation to fix the much bigger and arguably worse problem with the justice system in general. Non-rich people (I don't say "poor" because I include middle-class as well) are totally boxed out of the justice system in the USA. A pox of scammers is just one of the side-effects of the ossification and decay of the system. I'd like to solve a big chunk of problems all at once, including this one.

Re: Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue came from scams

#310

I've been seeing legitimate pornography on Facebook while scrolling through reels. I thought it was "just my algorithm", but co-workers brought it up during lunch. Quite a few of them are seeing the exact same ads. I've reported them a few times, but surprisingly (or maybe not), Facebook responds back with "we didn't find anything that goes against our community standards". These ads usually link to a website where y…

Yea, I have got ads for hardcore porn starting a month or two ago on Facebook. I only use marketplace, have no friends on the platform and have only used it to buy and sell as marketplace is unfortunately the only platform which is used for private transactions where I live.
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