Facebook to face legal action over get-rich-quick sponsored adverts

We’ve spoken before about get-rich-quick scams that spread across Facebook’s “sponsored adverts” feature, many of which exploit the identities of well-known business people to add to their credibility.

Such scams often claim a famous business person is invested in some type of program or business that can make anyone who signs up very rich. However these scams ultimately lead to websites such as binary option trading platforms where visitors are more likely to lose money than make money. Many sites use the Bitcoin name to try and confuse readers, despite having absolutely nothing to do with Bitcoin.

We discuss more about binary options get-rich-quick scams here.

Now one of those well-known business people, Martin Lewis from popular UK website Money Saving Expert, has begun proceedings to sue the social network for damages after Facebook failed to prevent scam adverts appearing in their “sponsored adverts” section promoting such scams using Lewis’s identity.

Such adverts promoting get-rich-quick scams using the identifies of celebrities frequently appear as “sponsored adverts”.

Lewis claimed that he had reported the adverts to Facebook and explained to them that he never publishes adverts on their platform. However, Facebook continued to allow scammers to post adverts using Lewis’s identity.

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Such adverts would imply that Martin Lewis had invested in a scheme to help people make money. However that is simply untrue, and such adverts would lead to binary options trading schemes. He told the BBC –

Facebook is facilitating scammers robbing vulnerable people of their money. It does this by running adverts with my name and my face for get-rich-quick scams like Bitcoin Code and Bitcoin Trading with are fronts for binary trading schemes.
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I have reported it time and time again over the last year. I put them on notice that I don’t do ads. So any advert with my name and face in is fake, stop running them. And it [Facebook] does nothing.

Many, including Lewis, have accused Facebook of failing to prevent such adverts because of greed. The social networking site receives money from the scammers to place those sponsored adverts.

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Mr Lewis is seeking damages but has pledged that any money he receives will go to anti-scam charities. He also said –

I feel sick each time I hear of another victim being conned because of trust they wrongly thought they were placing in me.

Remember, if an advert claims you can get rich using some sort of “automated system” then you’re more than likely seeing an advert for a scam. Just because an advert claims a celebrity of public figure has invested or endorses a particular program, that does not mean it’s true. Scepticism and due diligence are incredibly important when evaluating whether such “opportunities” are worth considering.