Fraudsters trading on fake celebrity endorsements stole millions of pounds from unwitting individuals last year, with one person handing over £370,000 to a cryptocurrency investment scammer.
An advert on social media platform Facebook featuring Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield claimed to be a legitimate investment offer, leading to the victim transferring the record loss in several payments.
NatWest’s annual celebrity scam super league table revealed MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis’s name was also taken in vain, with the highest value case featuring the well-known TV presenter last year seeing one individual hand over £317,000 in a fake “Bitcoin Evolution” investment scam.
The bank’s study suggested Instagram is the most exploited platform criminals use to push fake adverts, with the number of scam ads on Facebook and Snapchat following closely.
Cryptocurrency scams are increasingly claiming false celebrity endorsement to attract attention online, with the top seven highest value cases all claiming to offer investment opportunities in various digital currencies.
Criminals are also exploiting crypto exchanges by offering to operate the account on behalf of unsuspecting members of the public, they then use this as an opportunity to syphon off the funds into their own accounts, NatWest said.
Because cryptocurrency isn’t protected by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme and most exchanges aren’t regulated by the Financial…
