Fury as web giants profit from scam pension ads
URGENT action is needed to stop internet giants making money from scam pension advertisements, MPS have warned.
Tech companies including Google have been criticised for hosting the adverts, in a report published today.
A cross-party group of MPS on the work and pensions committee say it is “immoral” that companies accept payment to advertise scams while also taking cash from regulators to publish warnings.
The committee says regulators appear “powerless” to hold internet firms to account and calls for new legal powers to crack down on online fraud. Stephen Timms, former chief secretary to the Treasury who chairs the committee, warned that “any one of us saving for the future is at risk of falling prey to a scammer”, before condemning a “woeful lack of online regulation”. He said new freedoms giving people to access their pension pots have given savers more choice but have “also opened up a whole new world of opportunity for fraudsters”.
He warned: “The result is an online free-for-all, where scammers can advertise with impunity while tech giants line their pockets from the proceeds of their crimes.
“Firms such
as
Google are increasingly influential as providers of information.
“And consumers looking for financial advice are being let down by not being afforded the same level of protection they receive from adverts on television or in a newspaper.”
However, a Google spokesman said: “Protecting consumers and credible businesses operating in the financial sector is a priority for us.
“We take dishonest business practices and misleading ads very seriously as a violation of our policies.
“Last year, we updated our financial services policies and removed 3.1 billion bad ads from our platforms, of which 123 million were ads related to financial services. When ads do not comply with our policies, we take action to remove them.”
Research suggests that “£10billion has been lost by 40,000 people to pension scams since 2015”, according to the MPS’ report.
They want to see the launch of an official “pensions scams centre” with its own funding and staff. They also call on the Financial Conduct Authority to “raise its game” amid concerns it is ineffective.
Mr Timms said scams can “cause huge financial harm and psychological distress”. He said: “Government and the regulators have been left playing catch-up following pension freedom reforms. They must now act quickly to protect savers and their hard-earned money.”
‘Consumers are being let down’