£63m lost in investment scams on social media

interactive investor comments on new Action Fraud figures.

Commenting on new figures revealing that over £63 million was lost nationally by victims of investment fraud who referred to a social media platform in their report to Action Fraud, Myron Jobson, Personal Finance Campaigner, interactive investor, says: “Social media has unwittingly become a breeding ground for dastardly investment scams.

“These scams feed on the FOMO (fear of missing out) culture that is rife on social media platforms, luring users in with phoney ‘too good to be true’ investment opportunities amid posts showing users living their ‘best life’. However, these scams have a devastating consequences on victims, both financially and emotionally.

“There is an epidemic of financial scams in the UK which has been exacerbated over the past year by the pandemic, with fraudsters taking advantage of the Covid tumult to hide their nefarious schemes.

“We all have to be on the lookout for this, and social media firms have a big role to play to weed out scam adverts on their platforms. It is all too easy for unscrupulous individuals to promote their scams to the masses, so it paramount that Online Safety Bill puts a legal onus on these companies to do more in tackling the issue.

“Financial companies, charities as well as the regulator have been screaming for the bill to be amended accordingly. The government must now act to pull the plug on social media scammers.”