Today, seven reality television stars, all members of the Ngepa family, are staring down a 2027 trial date. This cast is comprised of ex-Love Island contestants and The Only Way is Essex cast members. These influencers were accused of using Instagram to promote an illegal foreign exchange trading scheme. This has increased calls to hold social media influencers liable for misleading financial promotions.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) kicked things off with a “week of action” against financial influencers, or finfluencers, last October. During this period, the FCA interviewed 20 influencers under caution, taking significant steps to combat unlawful financial promotions on social media platforms. The agency has released 38 alerts so far. These alerts have to do with influencer-operated social media accounts that may contain illegal advertising.
Lucy Castledine, the FCA’s director of consumer investments, urged that the watchdog was “well placed” to fight scams. She continued that they need “stronger powers” to crack down on fraudsters and targeted illegal content. Even she admitted to the obstacles presented by the breakneck speed with which fraudulent content can resurge across the web.
“Meta took six weeks to act on those requests from the date the warning was issued and the takedown request was submitted,” – Lucy Castledine
The FCA’s approach rests on an entirely voluntary system of takedown requests aimed at large technology firms to remove harmful scam content. Even with these actions taken, Castledine was still frustrated by the slow action taken by these platforms. She added that it’s simply not good enough that scam content is reappearing just days after takedown requests are made.
“We can’t have that content popping up 12 hours later. They need to be more reactive or we will be in a continual whack-a-mole process. I think they could do a lot more.” – Dame Meg Hillier
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury select committee, who is currently leading an inquiry into the practices of these finfluencers. She agreed with Castledine’s statement, saying she wants to see big tech do more and be more proactive in their efforts to stop fraudulent activities online.
Scammers often employ a tactic known as “lifeboating.” They generate batches of similar throwaway email accounts, so evicted spammers can re-invade faster than you’ve evicted them. This tactic muddles the FCA’s opposition, as they can only issue takedown notices for a single account at a time.
Castledine described how algorithms are not neutral, but actively push content to consumers. Their efficiency at removing fraudulent material varies widely by platform.
“However, the amount of time to action them can be significant. The time it takes varies by platform,” – Lucy Castledine
Up to now, we have yet to see any influencers criminally charged for their role in facilitating unauthorized pump and dump schemes. The collapse serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of robust regulatory frameworks. It further demands stronger cooperation between regulators and technology platforms to protect consumers from misleading financial promotions.