Taiwan Steps Up Fight Against Online Investment Scams with AI Systems: 100K Ads Removed Since 2023

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has removed more than 100,000 fraudulent investment advertisements since 2023.

The FSC explained that affiliated financial institutions were instructed to deploy AI flagging systems on platforms such as Meta and Google. Once detected, the ads were reported to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for removal.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange also commissioned an anti-fraud startup to build a dedicated AI system, which began trial operations in September 2024. The platform has already taken down more than 60,000 scam ads.

“Fraud does not take holidays,” the FSC noted, warning that scam activity often spikes during long breaks. Since July, related institutions have been required to verify suspected fraud cases even on non-working days.

According to the commission, the average time needed to remove scam investment ads fell to 3.4 hours in November, a speed it said is critical to reducing investor losses.

Authorities also cautioned about a common tactic in which fraud rings lure victims from social media into Line groups. The FSC said it has established a mechanism with Line to suspend suspected fraudulent accounts.

The warning echoes a January advisory from the National Police Agency under the Ministry of the Interior, which revealed that criminals frequently purchase Facebook ads to funnel victims into “investment groups” on Line. Meanwhile, the agency revealed that Taiwan recorded NT$37.19 billion (US$1.23 billion) in fraud-related losses in the final quarter of 2024.