UK consumer advice personality Martin Lewis is taking Facebook to court over “disgusting” fake advertising using his name to sell “get-rich-quick” financial schemes.
Lewis Lambasts Paid-Up ‘Scams’
Lewis, who has amassed a $175 million fortune from resources such as MoneySavingExpert.com, which ironically helps consumers avoid unnecessary expenditure, said Facebook had not done enough to remove fake ads using his identity.
“Today (Monday 23 April), I will issue High Court proceedings against Facebook, to try and stop all the disgusting repeated fake adverts from scammers it refuses to stop publishing with my picture, name and reputation,” he confirmed in a blog post.
The move represents further irony coming in light of the social media giant’s blanket ban on cryptocurrency advertisements, which it said were “misleading” users.
According to Lewis, Bitcoin still featured in the most commonplace “scams” masquerading as something he had endorsed.
“The most prevalent (scams) are get-rich-quick schemes currently titled ‘Bitcoin code’ or ‘Cloud Trader’, which are fronts for binary trading firms based outside the EU,” he wrote.
Binary trading is a financially dangerous, near-certain money-loser, which the (UK) regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) strongly warns against.
The Wild West Of Online Crypto Media Fraud
Facebook had taken steps to remove the offending content after complaints from Lewis, but progress had not been quick enough, he says, adding:
I’m not the only public face this has happened to. It’s time Facebook was made to take responsibility. It claims to be a platform not a publisher – yet this isn’t just a post on a web forum, it is being paid to publish, promulgate and promote what are often fraudulent enterprises.
Meanwhile, organized scams remain a persistent nuisance for crypto industry businesses and personalities alike.
After Twitter users began falling for fake accounts promising giveaways of free coins, well-known figures such as Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin even adjusted their names on the site to remind them they were not engaging in such practices.
The fraudulent tweets, however, continue.
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Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter, www.independent.co.uk