Social media and search engines still littered with scam ads, warns Which?
A consumer watchdog has warned that social media platforms and search engines are still full of scam ads, despite the "epidemic" of fraud in the UK.
Which? found numerous cases of fake advertising, from copies of big retail brands to investment scams and ads using famous people's names even though they have nothing to do with the product or service. The group looked at Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube as well as Google and Bing in November and December.
They found multiple clear scam ads, even though the Online Safety Act had been agreed weeks before. This law doesn't officially start on scam ads until after Ofcom finishes the codes of practice, which will set the standard for platforms.
On Meta's ad library, Which? found Facebook and Instagram had lots of fake ads pretending to be big retailers around Black Friday, including Currys, River Island and Marks & Spencer. Each ad tried to trick victims into going to fake sites to get their payment details. On YouTube and TikTok, Which? found sponsored videos where people without Financial Conduct Authority permission gave often "highly inappropriate" investment advice.
An advert led to a fake BBC website and featured an article falsely using Martin Lewis to endorse a company which promoted itself as a crypto get-rich-quick platform. Beneath the advert was a note added by the platform with some context added by other site users, known as readers' notes. It warned that: "This is yet another crypto scam using celebrities." Despite the warning, the advert remained live.
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When researchers posed as drivers searching on Google for the "paybyphone app" to pay for parking, they were confronted with two adverts for impostor websites onlytelephone.com and homeautomationinnovators.com appearing at the top of search results and using PayByPhone's logo without permission. Both websites claimed to offer a "free download", but included identical small print at the bottom of their websites revealing a monthly charge of £24.99. PayByPhone confirmed that the advertisers had nothing to do with the genuine parking app.
Which? said it was concerned that the findings suggested online platforms may not be taking scam adverts seriously enough. It has called for a dedicated fraud minister to make the problem a "national priority". Microsoft, the owner of Bing, and TikTok were the only platforms to tell Which? they had removed the scam or harmful content reported to them.
Facebook, Google, Instagram and X did not report back to Which? on whether the adverts reported to them had been blocked or removed. 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.
He added: "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."
Google, which also runs YouTube, said: "Protecting users is our top priority and we have strict ads policies that govern the types of ads and advertisers we allow on our platforms. We enforce our policies vigorously, and if we find ads that are in violation, we remove them. We continue to invest significant resources to stop bad actors and we are constantly evaluating and updating our policies and improving our technology to keep our users safe."
TikTok said it doesn't allow fraud or scams and said it had taken down all the videos Which? found breaking these rules, as well as the accounts that posted them. Microsoft, which owns Bing, also said to Which? that it doesn't allow adverts that lie, trick people or could hurt users, and confirmed it had removed the adverts Which? told them about.
A spokesperson for the Government said: "Government action has helped reduce fraud by 13% demonstrating progress on the rollout 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 biggest tech companies to reduce fraud on their platforms, including fraudulent adverts."
"Our world-leading Online Safety Act will also require platforms to take proactive measures to prevent and swiftly remove fraudulent content. Companies that fail to comply with their new duties could face huge fines."
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