Money expert urges Ofcom be given more powers as interview with chancellor used to trick people to share bank details
Eleni CoureaSun 20 Oct 2024 07.00 EDTFirst published on Fri 18 Oct 2024 10.37 EDTShareMartin Lewis has warned of a “wild west” of online scams after criminals used a fake interview with Rachel Reeves to trick consumers into sharing their bank details before the budget.
The Guardian spotted an online advert from an outfit calling itself “Quantum AI” designed to look like a BBC News article covering an interview with the UK chancellor. The advert was headlined “By order of Rachel Reeves, UK residents will start receiving income from taxes.” It purported that people could receive £2,300 payouts if they applied early.
The advert, which was presented as an interview between Reeves and LBC’s Iain Dale, directed applicants to fill in their bank details on the Quantum AI website. To create a sense of urgency, the ad claimed there were fewer than 800 out of 4,000 places left.
Quantum AI has been promoted in AI-generated deepfake videos of Lewis, where the consumer champion and founder of MoneySavingExpert appears to urge people to invest in an Elon Musk-backed project.
Lewis called on ministers to empower Ofcom to tackle online scams. “As we’re still not going to have any regulation on scams online until the middle of 2026, we still live in a wild west and people are still incredibly at risk from these criminals,” he said.
Under the Online Safety Act, the communications regulator will be able to require tech firms to implement measures to protect their users from illegal content online.
Warning social media videos could be exploited by scammers to clone voicesRead moreLewis said the “organised crime groups” behind the scams acted like “dark web online marketing agencies”.
He said: “Just like normal online marketing agencies, what they do is they utilise whatever will get them the most clicks and most people through to their nefarious aims. They are constantly trying other iterations, just like any other marketing firm would do to try and reach more people.
“We saw them use Rishi Sunak. Now we’re seeing Rachel Reeves in one of those scams. Their thinking is: ‘Do we think she’ll do any business? Let’s put her out there and see.’”
The scam adverts often feature Musk, bitcoin and quantum trading, which Lewis said acted as “totems for getting rich quick”.
Lewis said: “They are now trying the chancellor because it might catch a few people who aren’t caught by other methods.”
The Advertising Standards Authority, which runs a scam alert system, said it had spotted the advert and sent an alert to online platforms to get it removed.
A spokesperson for the Times Media, on whose mobile app the advert was spotted, said: “We have investigated the advert brought to our attention and it was quickly blocked across our network. We prioritise consumer digital safety and we have a responsibility to take the utmost care to ensure that all advertising in our digital ecosystem meets the high standards expected by our readers.”
Chris Olson, the chief executive of the Media Trust, which works with publishers to tackle fraudulent advertising, said: “These issues will not be solved by any one member of the digital supply chain, nor by well-intentioned legislation alone. Combating targeted digital scams and cyber-attacks requires sophisticated scanning and cooperation across the entire digital supply chain.”
Dale said: “It is incredibly concerning that this AI scam is seeking to mislead innocent people in this way. I hope the police see it as a priority to crack down on it and that the laws in this area are strengthened. The trouble is, technology is always light years ahead of the law.”
A government spokesperson said: “Fraud is a pernicious crime, and we are determined to bring fraudsters to justice. In this case, this scam advert was flagged by ASA’s scam ad alert system, and we are pleased it has since been taken down. “We urge the public to find out more about staying safe from fraud, including how to stop fake online adverts, by visiting the government’s Stop! Think Fraud website.”
