The New York Times found 205 Facebook and Instagram accounts pretending to be Zuckerberg or Sandberg and at least 51 were running lottery scams. Following the publication of the report, Facebook had removed all of the noted accounts. A company spokesperson told the newspaper that spotting such accounts isn't easy, adding, "We want to get better."

Fake accounts, though not allowed by Facebook, are a persistent issue for the company and a tactic used by Russian groups to spread political discord during the last US presidential election. Zuckerberg was questioned about fake accounts during his recent Congressional hearings. "This is an important issue and fake accounts, overall, are a big issue, because that's how a lot of the other issues that we see around fake news and foreign election interference are happening, as well," Zuckerberg said in a response to questions from Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).