AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER WATCHDOG SLAMS TECH GIANTS OVER FAKE CELEBRITY ADS

FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE TOLD TO CLEAN UP THEIR ACT.

According to Scamwatch, celebrity endorsement scams in Australia have increased by 400%, resulting in financial losses for consumers that have gone up by an eye-watering 3,800%. The amount of money lost by consumers to fake ads in 2018 alone add up to $142,000. “Most of the reports to Scamwatch involve these scam advertisements running on Google ad banners or as ads in Facebook’s news feeds,” says ACCC’s deputy chair Delia Rickard. She wants the “tech giants to do more to quickly suspend ads” so consumers don’t “risk losing money”.