Make Google pay for online frauds

Call for tech giant to take responsibility for hosting scam ads

IN a move akin to putting the fox in charge of the hen house, Google has joined an advertising watchdog.

The tech giant is the first corporate member of the European Advertising Standards Alliance, which co-ordinates the work of regulators in 26 countries to “ensure advertising is responsible across media”.

Responsible advertising? Google is awash with scam adverts that prey on savers.

Take compare-apr -rates.com , which was pushed to the top of search results by Google Ads.

“Compare the best fixed rate investments on the market,” it touted, promising that all its bonds were approved by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The opposite is true, compare-aprrates is on the FCA’S consumer alert list of unauthorised firms.

If you gave it your details you’d be contacted by a business using the name Belgravia Finance Company, which claims to be an “expert institute” when it comes to investing and says it specialises in precious metal mining, with headquarters in London.

The website gives the company registration number of Belgravia Finance Co (1990) Limited which, reassuringly, has been in existence for 30 years.

But this company has nothing to do with the fake website that has hijacked its name.

“We are just a private family property company and not even trading,” said Elmer van Dooren, a director of the genuine business.

“We have nothing to do with precious metals, we don’t want investors, and don’t even have a website.”

Another site run by rogues is ukbondsclub.com, which was added to the FCA’S warning list on October 7. One week later it appeared top of online search results with a Google Ad promising: “Strengthen your financial portfolio with risk-free bond investment options.”

Then there’s the strange c a s e o f T h e Mo n e y Premium Limited, whose Google Ad tempted: “We compare the top p er formin g f i xe d rat e bonds in the UK to ensure you get the best deal”, promising 100% capital protection.

But there’s no such UK company as The Money Premium registered with Companies House and the registration number it gave was for an electrical business in Essex.

I put this to The Money Premium via the website’s chat box feature and was told that the mix-up was the fault of its marketing company. I also asked why they claim to have won two financial awards when the award bodies have no record of them, but I got no answer to that.

Ye t a n o t h e r stark example is firstratebonds. co.uk, again promoted by Google Ads but flouting Google’s own business verification policy by not giving an address, not even one of the usual fake virtual offices. Ukbondadvisory.com is also being promoted through Google Ads.

It claims to offer returns of 6% on bonds covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and has more than 12,000 happy customers according to its website.

Call me cynical, but I doubt it – because the website didn’t even exist until Monday.

Google insists: “We enforce our policies vigorously and remove fraudulent ads and actors as soon as we become aware of them.”

I’m not the only one who thinks the evidence suggests otherwise.

“Google is doing very little to vet its advertisers,” says consumer finance campaigner Mark Taber.

“The problem is massive, as evidenced by the number of investment scam ads I identify and report every day, and the number of victims coming forward.

“The only sustainable solution is for Government to change the law to make online platforms liable for the ads they display in the same way that traditional media are.”

The solution is to make platforms liable for ads they display