Martin Lewis, an English journalist and money saving expert, accuses Facebook for scam Cryptocurrency Ads.
“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 wrote in his blog yesterday.
According to him, within the last year the social media site has published over 50 fake Martin Lewis adverts, which are regularly seen, likely by millions of people, in the UK.
These adverts are often for scams. Many have big pictures of Martin and his name, alongside a raft of false promises or endorsements – some then link on to fake articles which continue the theme.
“The most prevalent are get-rich-quick schemes currently titled ‘Bitcoin code’ or ‘Cloud Trader’, which are fronts for binary trading firms based outside the EU. Binary trading is a financially dangerous, near-certain money-loser, which the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) strongly warns against”, he adds.
In January 2018 Facebook said it was banning all ads related to cryptocurrencies in an effort to fight scams.
“We’ve created a new policy that prohibits ads that promote financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, such as binary options, initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency, Rob Leathern, Product Management Director said in a statement, announcing the news.
Nevertheless, Leathern hinted that Facebook may modify the new policy at some point to allow bona fide crypto-related businesses to advertise again.
By Jade Olafson