by Social media platforms and search engines are still awash with scam ads amid a fraud “epidemic” gripping the UK, a watchdog has warned.
Which one of them? It found “blatant” fraudulent advertising, from copycats of major retail brands to investment scams and ads using celebrities’ identities despite having no connection to the product or service.
The consumer group scoured Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube as well as Google and Bing search engines in November and December and were able to easily find a range of obvious scam ads , although the Online Safety Act had been received. Royal Assent weeks earlier.
The Act does not officially come into force on scam ads until Ofcom finalizes the codes of practice, which the regulator will use to set the standards platforms must meet.
On the Meta ad library, Which? Facebook and Instagram have discovered a host of copyrighted ads impersonating major retailers around the time of Black Friday sales, including electronics giant Currys and clothing brands River Island and Marks & Spencer. Each ad attempted to lure victims to bogus sites in an attempt to extract their payment details.
On YouTube and TikTok, Which? sponsored videos have been found in which individuals without authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority often give “highly inappropriate” investment advice.
On X, an ad led to a fake BBC website with an article falsely used by Martin Lewis to support a company promoting itself as a get-rich-quick encryption platform.
Below the ad was a note added by the platform and some context added by other users of the site, known as reader notes. He warned: “This is another crypto scam used by celebrities.” Despite the warning, the ad was still live.
When researchers posed as drivers searching Google for “paybyphone app” to pay for parking, they were presented with two ads for impostor websites – onlytelephone.com and homeautomationinnovators.com – appearing at the top of search results and removing use of the PayByPhone logo without permission.
Both websites claimed to offer “free download”, but included identical fine print at the bottom of their websites disclosing a monthly fee of £24.99. PayByPhone confirmed that the advertisers had nothing to do with the parking scam.
Which one of them? He said he was concerned that the results suggested that online platforms may not be taking scam ads seriously enough.
He called on a dedicated fraud minister to make the problem a “national priority”.
Microsoft, owner of Bing, and TikTok were the only platforms to say Which? they removed the scam or harmful content that was reported to them.
Facebook, Google, Instagram and X did not report back to Which? as to whether the ads reported to them have been blocked or removed.
Rocio Concha, Which? The director of policy and advocacy said: “Most social media platforms and search engines are still failing to protect their users from scam ads, despite upcoming laws that will force them to tackle the problem.
“Ofcom must implement a code of conduct that places strong duties on platforms to detect and remove scams in line with the Online Safety Act. The Government must make tackling fraud a national priority and appoint a fraud minister who can ensure there is a co-ordinated push back against the fraud epidemic gripping the UK.”
YouTube’s parent company Google also said: “Protecting users is our top priority and we have strict ad policies that govern the types of ads and advertisements we allow on our platforms. We actively enforce our policies, and if we find ads that violate them, we remove them.
“We continue to invest significant resources to stop bad actors and are constantly evaluating and updating our policies and improving our technology to keep our users safe.”
TikTok said its guidelines prohibited fraud and scams, adding that it had removed all videos Which? shared with him to overcome these, as well as related accounts.
Microsoft, the owner of Bing, told Which? that its policies prohibited the advertising of deceptive, fraudulent or potentially harmful content to users, also confirming that it removed the content reported by the watcher.
A Government spokesman said: “Government action has helped to reduce fraud by 13%, which shows progress in the implementation of our fraud strategy.
“The strategy announced the appointment of a new Anti-Fraud Champion, who recently helped secure the world’s first online fraud charter, a commitment from 12 of the world’s largest technology companies to reduce fraud on their platforms, including fraudulent advertisements.
“Our world-leading Online Safety Act will also require platforms to take proactive measures to prevent and quickly remove fraudulent content. Companies that do not comply with their new obligations could face huge fines.”
