Which? response as Work and Pensions Committee is told by FCA that fraudsters are using online advertising to ‘industrialise’ scams

Rocio Concha, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Which?, said:

“Online advertising scams can have a devastating impact on victims, yet our research has repeatedly found that online platforms such as Google and Facebook have failed to prevent fraudsters from exploiting their systems and are falling short in protecting their users.

“Despite acknowledging the seriousness of the issue, the government has not included scams within the scope of its online safety bill. It must urgently come forward with new proposals to give platforms more legal responsibility to prevent fraudulent content from appearing on their sites in the first place.”

Notes to editors

• Stronger measures needed to tackle scam ads on Google, Which? warns

• Nearly one in 10 have fallen victim to scam adverts on social media or search engines as platforms fail to adequately protect users, Which? finds

• Which? calls for action over emotional and financial toll of online scams as tech giants fail to adequately protect users

Statement