Scam adverts continue to litter social media feeds and online search results, according to the consumer advice and campaign group Which?.
It looked at scams appearing on online platforms and says that it found blatant fraudulent advertising, whether copycats of major retail brands, or investment scams and ‘recovery’ scams, which target previous victims of scams. Scam adverts using the identities of celebrities such as Richard Branson, despite them having nothing to do with the ads, continue to target consumers online. In November and December 2023, Which? combed the biggest social media sites: Facebook, Instagram,TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. Researchers also looked at the two biggest search engines, Google and Bing.
Which? researchers were able to find a range of obvious scam adverts: such as shopping with big-name retailers, competitions and money-saving deals, investments, weight-loss gummies and getting help to recover money after a scam.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: “Most of the major social media platforms and search engines are still failing to protect their users from scam ads, despite forthcoming laws that will force them to tackle the problem.
“Ofcom must put a code of conduct in place that puts robust duties on platforms to detect and take down scams using the Online Safety Act. The government needs to make tackling fraud a national priority and appoint a fraud minister who can ensure there is a coordinated pushback against the epidemic of fraud gripping the UK.
“Although the onus should not fall on consumers, there are steps they can take to make becoming a fraud victim less likely. To hear about the latest scams they can sign up to the Which? scam alert service and people can get advice about how to protect themselves by visiting www.gov.uk/stopthinkfraud.”
Which? notes that the Online Safety Act recently received Royal Assent. Which? says it’s concerned the findings suggest online platforms may not be taking scam adverts seriously enough and will continue to inadvertently profit from the misery inflicted by fraudsters until the threat of multi-million pound fines becomes a reality; and calls on the comumnications regulator Ofcom to make sure that its online safety codes of practice prioritise fraud prevention and take-down.
See also the Get Answers podcast, from Which?, hosted by Harry Kind and Lisa Webb, alongside BBC Scam Interceptors co-host and investigative journalist Nick Stapleton.
Background
Ofcom points out that there’s no simple solution to tackling a complex problem like fraud, but adds that the new online safety rules will be an important part of making it harder for fraudsters to operate online. Online services will now be required to assess the risk of their users being harmed by illegal content on their platforms. Ofcom is to to set up online safety regulations over the next 18 months; and has gone out to consultation for the first of a proposed four times, first asking how internet services that enable the sharing of user-generated content (‘user-to-user services’) and search services should approach their new duties.
