How to Stop Facebook Ad Charges
Seeing an unexpected charge from Facebook on your bank statement can be alarming. The good news is that you can almost always find the source and stop future payments quickly. This tutorial will walk you through exactly how to identify the cause of the charges and shut them down for good, whether it's a forgotten campaign, an issue with account access, or something more serious.
First, Let's Investigate: Where are the charges coming from?
Before you can stop the charges, you need to figure out which ad account - and which specific campaign - is the culprit. 99% of the time, unwanted charges are due to an ad campaign that was accidentally left running.
1. Check Your Active Campaigns in Ads Manager
Your first stop should be the nerve center of all Facebook advertising: Ads Manager. This is where you can see every campaign, ad set, and ad associated with your account.
Navigate to Ads Manager: You can go there directly by typing facebook.com/adsmanager into your browser or opening your Facebook profile, clicking the menu icon (nine dots), and finding "Ads Manager" in the Professional section.
Look at the "Delivery" Column: Once you're in Ads Manager, focus on the ‘Campaigns’ tab. There you’ll find a list of all your campaigns. Look for a column labeled “Delivery.” If you see the word "Active", it means that the campaign is currently running and spending money. This is likely the source of your charges.
Check the Date Range: In the top-right corner of Ads Manager, you'll see a date range filter (e.g., "Last 30 Days"). Make sure this is set to a recent timeframe like "Today" or "Yesterday" to see what's currently spending.
2. Review Your Billing History
If you see an active campaign, great! The next step will show you how to turn it off. If you don’t see any active campaigns, your next stop is the billing section to get more details on the transactions themselves.
Go to the Billing Section: In Ads Manager, click the three horizontal lines (the "all tools" or hamburger menu) on the left side, and select “Billing” from the menu.
Analyze Your Transactions: Here you will find a complete log of your payment history. You can see the date, transaction ID, the amount charged, the payment method used, and importantly, what the charge was for. Clicking "View Details" on a transaction will often show you which specific ad campaign or ad set the charge corresponds to. This gives you concrete proof of where your money is going.
How to Stop an Active Facebook Ad Campaign
If you found an active campaign in the previous step, stopping it is thankfully very simple. Turning off the campaign immediately prevents it from accruing any new costs.
Here's how to do it step-by-step:
Go back to the 'Campaigns' tab in your Ads Manager.
Find the campaign you want to stop. Look for the one with "Active" in the Delivery column.
Toggle it off. To the left of the campaign name, you'll see a blue toggle switch. Click it.
That's it. The switch will turn gray, and the campaign delivery status will change to "Off." Your campaign is now paused, and Facebook will stop showing its ads to users, ending the charges associated with it. While you might still get charged for any spending that occurred just before you turned a campaign off, no new costs will be generated.
A quick tip: Ads are structured in three levels: Campaign → Ad Set → Ad. Turning off the toggle at the Campaign level is the most effective way to stop all spending because it deactivates all the ad sets and ads inside it.
What if You Have No Active Campaigns in Your Account?
It can be incredibly confusing to see Facebook charges on your bank statement but find zero active campaigns in your personal Ads Manager. If you've hit this roadblock, here are the most common reasons why:
Check Other Ad Accounts You Have Access To
Many business owners, marketers, and freelancers are given access to multiple ad accounts - for their clients, employers, side projects, or a past business. A charge might be coming from one of these other accounts that you forgot about.
In the top-left corner of Ads Manager, you'll see a dropdown menu with the name of the ad account you are currently viewing. Click on it. A list will appear showing every single ad account you have access to. You need to systematically go through each one and check for active campaigns, just as you did in the first step.
Confirm No One Else is Using Your Payment Method
Think about who might have access to your payment information. Did you ever add a credit card to an ad account for a former employee, a marketing agency you worked with, or a business partner? It's possible they are running ads through a different account that still has your card on file.
If you suspect this is the case, your best bet is to reach out to that person directly. If that's not possible or if you suspect foul play, you'll have to proceed to remove your payment method entirely and potentially treat it as an unauthorized charge.
The Final Step: Removing Your Payment Method
For complete peace of mind, or if you can't find the source of the charges, you can remove your payment method from the ad account. This action is an absolute guarantee that no further charges can be made from that account.
Here’s how to do it:
Navigate back to the “Billing” section in Ads Manager.
On the top-right, click the “Payment Settings” button.
You'll see a list of payment methods associated with the account. Find the card you want to remove, click the three-dots icon next to it, and select "Remove".
IMPORTANT: Facebook has rules about this. You cannot remove a primary payment method if you have an outstanding balance that needs to be paid. You will need to settle that bill first. Additionally, you cannot remove the only payment method on file if there are still active ads running. You must turn off all active campaigns first, then you can remove your card.
What to Do About Unauthorized and Fraudulent Charges
If you've followed all the steps and believe your account has been compromised or your payment information has been used without permission, you need to act quickly to secure your account.
Secure Your Facebook Account: Immediately change your Facebook password. Then, go to your Facebook account's "Settings & Privacy" → "Security and Login" menu and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). This adds a critical layer of security to prevent unauthorized access.
Remove Unrecognized Users: In Ads Manager, go to "Ad Account Settings". Check the "Ad Account Roles" section and remove any users you don’t recognize or who should no longer have access.
Contact Facebook Support: You can reach out to Facebook's Ad Support team through the Meta Business Help Center. Be prepared with the transaction IDs from your billing section, the dates, and the amounts. Explain clearly that you believe these are unauthorized charges. You can start this process by visiting facebook.com/business/help.
Dispute the Charge with Your Bank: As a last resort, you can contact your credit card company or bank to dispute the charge. Be aware that this can sometimes lead Facebook to disable your ad account permanently, so it's often best to try to resolve the issue with Facebook first.
How to Prevent Unwanted Charges in the Future
Once you’ve resolved the immediate issue, a few preventative habits can save you this headache in the future.
Set an Account Spending Limit: This is a lifetime limit for your entire ad account. Once this limit is reached, all your ads automatically stop, acting as a powerful safety net. You can set this up in Billing → Payment Settings.
Audit Your Accounts Regularly: Set a reminder to check Ads Manager once a month. Skim your campaigns to make sure nothing is running that you forgot about and review account user permissions.
Use Automated Rules: In Ads Manager, you can create rules that automatically turn off campaigns if certain conditions are met, such as if spending reaches a certain level or performance drops. This is a great way to put spending controls on autopilot.
Final Thoughts
Finding unexpected charges from Facebook ads is stressful, but you are now equipped to handle it. By methodically checking your Ads Manager for active campaigns, digging into your billing history, and understanding how to shut things down, you can quickly take back control of your spending and secure your account for the future.
Keeping a close eye on your ad spend is one of the most important jobs for any founder or marketer. We found ourselves constantly logging into a dozen different platforms just to connect the dots on performance, which is why we built Graphed. Our platform connects all your data sources - like Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, and Shopify - so you can use simple, natural language to create real-time dashboards in seconds. Instead of getting caught off guard by a surprise charge, you can ask a question like "show my Facebook ad spend vs. revenue for this month" and get an instant, live view of what’s happening, helping you make smarter decisions without ever having to wrangle a spreadsheet again.