Beware of Facebook posts for ‘tariff relief’ payments. They’re lies.

Tricksters have been paying Meta to show you Facebook and Instagram posts touting a $750 “tariff relief credit” or $5,600 in “tariff relief benefits.”

Needless to say, these promised financial goodies were bogus. The posts appeared to be trying to lure you to a marketing call center, or to make money by passing your personal information to spammers.

These ads didn’t seem to be widespread on Facebook or Instagram. And after I told Meta about them on Thursday, the company said it removed the ads for breaking its rules against deceptive or misleading ads.

Still, they are a reminder that rip-off artists tailor their online trickery to hot-button topics. There are holiday-themed scams in December, IRS-related deceptions around tax filing deadlines, and now multiple types of tariff scams when Americans are anxious about prices spiraling from steep import taxes on Chinese products.

And one underlying problem is that small-time hucksters can outwit Meta to buy ads designed to trick you.

While you’ve learned to ignore obvious internet deceptions, they still find plenty of victims — and anyone can fall for them. The FBI says it receives more than 2,000 daily complaints about online crime and fraud, with reported losses at $17 billion in 2024. Unreported losses are likely much higher.

Here’s how these deceptive tariff tactics work and how to protect yourself from the tricksters’ flavor of the month.

$750 is a magic number for deceptions

I followed one Facebook ad this week pitching $5,600 “tariff relief benefits.” It took me to a website that asked about my income and health care enrollment, and then the site prompted me to call a “subsidy adviser.”

The number didn’t work when I called Thursday.

John Breyault, who oversees the consumer protection site Fraud.org for the National Consumers League, said the goal was likely to funnel me to a call center to pitch insurance or another product.

The same Facebook account that promised tariff relief benefits was also buying ads on Meta apps that pitched “up to $5,600 in 2025 health benefits” using similar language, according to Meta’s website that discloses advertising campaigns. (Meta removed the deceptive ads after I notified the company about them.)

Meta said its scam-protection work “is never done, and we continue to invest in new technologies and share our updates publicly.”

As for those Facebook and Instagram ads that pitched $750 “tariff relief” vouchers, they are just the latest twist on online quiz or sweepstakes schemes that promise enticements like a Walmart gift card, said Nati Tal, head of research at Guardio, a digital security software company.

He said the promised gift cards or vouchers often seem to be for $750.

If you follow one of those promises from social media, email or text to claim your prize, you typically must answer questions or fill out online forms. That’s generally a way to collect personal information to spam you or to collect commissions from directing you to other spammers.

“It’s a well-oiled machine,” Tal said.

The tariff relief vouchers pitched in Facebook ads, which Guardio’s software spotted, promised savings from DHGate. The choice of the Chinese e-commerce app was likely capitalizing on TikTok videos that touted the site for bargains.

The credits don’t appear to exist, and the ads don’t seem to be affiliated with DHGate, which didn’t immediately have a comment.

The ads and websites about tariff vouchers are worded in a way that they’re “not exactly a scam,” Tal said, possibly to evade Meta’s anti-fraud defenses. (Meta removed the ads after I notified the company about them.)

How you can protect yourself from online deceptions

Assume everything is a scam.

If you follow an online link and they ask for money, personal information or your login information, it’s a scam. If you get a call that seems to be from the government or a text that appears to be from UPS, assume it’s a scam.

If you hear about “tariff relief” payments, that’s a crock. (Related: If you’ve watched TikTok videos discussing purported new “stimulus” payments or “DOGE dividend” checks, please stop. That’s not real.)

It stinks to be suspicious of everything, but that’s the best protection from the internet’s nonstop lying machine.

Be wary of any “sponsored” post

The “sponsored” text at the top of a Facebook or Instagram post indicates it’s an ad. While deceptions lurk everywhere online, sponsored posts on Meta apps or Google search can be a particular minefield.

If there’s an older adult in your life or someone who isn’t internet savvy, consider coaching them never to click a sponsored post.

This cannot be your responsibility alone

We have all been told to scour online links, texts and emails for telltale signs of scammers and spammers. This advice doesn’t always work, because you’re fallible and cannot be a full-time cyber sleuth.

Breyault said it makes sense to identify policies that could hold banks, social media companies and mobile carriers accountable for their role in distributing spam and scams.

Right now, he said, people “are the ones who are holding the bag when it comes to fraud, and they’re the ones who can least afford the losses.”

• Vic Chiang contributed to this report.