Policy article

OPINION: Scam ads are a scourge. Here’s how to clamp down on them

For years, Which? has warned readers to be vigilant online. Never click suspicious links. Be wary of cold callers asking for money. Double-check retailers before buying products. Don't trust ‘celebrity-backed’ investment opportunities that seem too good to be true
3 min read
Rocio ConchaDirector of Policy and Advocacy, and Chief Economist

Originally published in PoliticsHome 04 December 2025. Permission to publish sought and granted on 09 August 2023.

But this vigilance is being tested by the sheer number of scam advertisements that consumers see while browsing online. 

Once relegated to the murkier corners of the internet, these ads are now appearing on some of the UK’s most visited websites, including mainstream news outlets, search engines and major social platforms. Consumers do their best to dodge these digital pickpockets, yet many are continuing to lose large sums of their hard-earned money because the online advertising ecosystem is failing them.

It is no secret that ad revenue is critically important to websites. The trouble, however, is the systems used to buy and place ads are largely opaque - even to the publishers hosting them.

Which? has reported before on the rise of fraudsters buying scam ad space. When they do so on search engines, for example, consumers are more likely to believe that they’re genuine ads because they find themselves at the top of the page. It’s a similar story when they emerge on well-known websites: if they can appear there, then surely the host website would have done its due diligence and allowed the company to advertise? Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in too many instances.

Fraudsters exploit the system by disguising malicious ads as investment opportunities, tech support services, online retailers or miracle health products. This means a scammer can target UK consumers under the banner of a household-name news website, all because the publisher may not have full control over every ad that passes through its system. 

A forthcoming Which? investigation found scam ads purporting to be from well-known and trustworthy celebrities, such as the financial journalist Martin Lewis. Martin’s face was used to promote a bogus investment scheme, which was made to look like it was directing consumers to the BBC’s website - another trusted organisation. 

When a scam appears on an obscure webpage, the blame tends to fall on the consumer for having visited it. But when a scam appears above an article on some of the country’s leading news sites, it becomes clear that the problem is industrial in scale. The system, not the consumer, is at fault. 

The industry fightback, then, hasn’t kept pace with the complexity of online advertising. Yes, the Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates advertising, can take action to remove harmful ads - but that often happens after the fact, when these ads have already caused consumers to lose money. The Financial Conduct Authority, the watchdog in charge of financial services, can warn about cloned investment firms - but it is powerless to stop criminals buying ads that impersonate them. Despite tech platforms telling us that they are investing in technology to stamp out scams on their platforms, they remain widespread. 

We don’t think that consumers should need a degree in cybersecurity to safely read the news or browse online. If people don’t think that companies they put their faith in, and part their cash with, are doing enough to keep them safe when using their websites, their trust will deteriorate.  

The Online Safety Act introduced measures to tackle fraudulent ads on search engines, social media and other large online platforms, but many large publishers and ad intermediaries sit outside those obligations. 

Furthermore, due to delays by Ofcom the current timeline doesn’t see the Act enforced until 2027 at the earliest. Given the potential for these scam ads to cause consumers misery, it’s  indefensible that there should be such a delay. Which? wants Ofcom, the regulator in charge of overseeing these new duties, to reverse its latest delay and commit to enforce the codes as soon as possible. The government should also put pressure on the online platforms to put measures in place immediately rather than wait for the regulation.  

In relation to other parts of the online advertising ecosystem not covered by the Act, the government must commit to bringing forward statutory regulation to tackle the scourge of fraudulent open display ads as part of its next fraud strategy.  Without plans to regulate the open display advertising market, scam ads will continue to proliferate. When Lord Hanson delivers this long-awaited fraud strategy early in the new year, he must show that he is on the side of UK consumers and make tackling fraud a national priority. If he doesn’t, more misery and financial loss awaits.