Martin Lewis tops NatWest’s celeb scam-ad list

Martin Lewis has topped NatWest’s ‘Celebrity Scam Super League’.

The League is based on the highest value cases in which a celebrity’s name or image has been used by criminals to trick a consumer into making a fake investment.

Martin Lewis was top of the list, with one consumer losing more than £150,000 in an scam that used the money expert’s details to trick them into a fake investment.

This was more than double the second highest value case, Elon Musk, in which a consumer lost £62,900.

Jennifer Aniston came in third place, with one consumer losing over £58,000 to a scam purporting to be a legitimate investment opportunity with the famous actress, followed by Jimmy page at £50,994; Dr Bradly Schaeffer at £48,500; and Jeremey Clarkson at £47,500.


Martin Lewis has previously spoken out about deep fake videos being used to impersonate him to give consumers false investment advice.

The Martin Lewis case that topped the table was a cryptocurrency investment scam, where a customer received a cold call from a fraudster pretending to be the Money Saving Expert after they looked up investment opportunities online.

“Criminals are increasingly using images of famous people who have been successful in business or are well known for giving advice on money to steal millions of pounds," said Stuart Skinner, who leads the fraud prevention team at NatWest. "Over one in ten - 13 per cent - consumers have lost money to fraudsters in the last 12months."

The figures come as consumer champion Which? calls on the next prime minister to appoint a dedicated minister to address the issue of fraud.

The organisation said that a fraud minister could ensure that banks and payment providers treat victims fairly and reimburse them properly.

It added that fraud is the UK’s most common crime, accounting for around 40 per cent of crimes committed in England and Wales.

According to UK Finance, fraud losses reached over £1 billion last year.



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