The threat of financial fraud is so severe that it has been described as a “national security threat” by UK Finance. The banking industry body has warned that more must be done to protect people from investment fraud, authorised push payment (APP) scams, fraudulent retailers, and romantic swindlers. Overall, financial losses due to fraud reached over £296 million in the first half of 2021, with only about £151 million returned to customers.
UK Finance highlighted investment fraud as a particular concern, with fake cryptocurrency and other financial ads on social media resulting in a huge surge in losses. Worryingly, investment fraud skyrocketed during the pandemic with losses almost doubling from £55.2 million to £107.7 million in the same period year-on-year. That’s a staggering 95% rise.
Social media and investment fraud
Cryptocurrency investment advertisements on social media are often used by scammers to trick unsuspecting victims. Often fraudsters create websites which look genuine, and which appear to be run by a legitimate financial services company. These schemes also use celebrity endorsements to encourage people to invest. But criminals use fake endorsements and imposter websites (cloning the branding of reputable companies) to trick people into investing. The losses in such cases can be devastating.
The good news is that, following a surge of financial scams, many platforms have banned advertisements for unregistered financial companies. There are also calls to hold online platforms liable for failing to undertake appropriate checks and allowing fraudulent companies to advertise.
However, there is still some way to go, and the onus remains on individuals to avoid falling prey to financial fraud. As such, KP Law is helping the Investment Fraud All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) as it strives to ensure that victims of investment fraud are better protected.
Investment fraud compensation
At KP Law, we help people affected by investment fraud get their money back.
Providing a cool head in a crisis, we remove the burden from your shoulders as we fight for justice. What’s more, because we offer no-win, no-fee funding arrangements, you benefit from expert legal support and complete peace of mind without having to worry about costs.
Our solicitors have even won cases where victims had been told that there was little to no chance of compensation.
Contact us in confidence to find out how we can help.
