Web giants ‘must screen ads for fraud’

INSURANCE giant Aviva has backed calls for a crackdown on financial fraud after its brand was hijacked repeatedly by criminals.

At least 27 fake websites were set up in Aviva’s name to dupe unsuspecting victims into handing over cash.

The €20billion pension giant warned that shutting down the scammer websites – often advertised via Facebook and Google – is like playing ‘whack-amole’ under the current lax rules.

The Mail’s Stamp Out Investment Fraud campaign, launched recently, demands that web giants are made legally responsible for removing scams from their platforms.

Last year, Aviva’s Peter Hazelwood said web giants were acting as both ‘enablers’ and ‘accelerants’ of online investment fraud. Platforms profit from hosting ads while letting criminals ‘slip through the net’, he said, adding that it usually took three weeks to get scams removed. Meanwhile the scammers just keep putting up ads. ‘It is like a whack-a-mole approach,’ Mr Hazelwood said.

In response to our queries, Google’s defence was that it took down 5.7 billion ‘bad ads’ in 2019 and 2020. But campaigners are livid that they put them up in the first place – and ask how much damage they can do while they are up.

‘Clone firm investment scams are unbelievably convincing and pretending to be a well-known brand name is fundamental in persuading consumers to part with their cash and sadly, their life savings,’ said a spokeswoman for Aviva Ireland.

‘Victims of clone firm investment scams tend to be people approaching retirement age who have access to their pension pot and are browsing the internet in the hope of making higher returns. They often have large amounts of cash at their disposal which is currently making low returns in a low-interest rate environment.’

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Bank said it has seen an upsurge in financial scams. ‘In 2020, the Central Bank published 86 warning notices in respect of unauthorised firms. There is a list of unauthorised firms available on the Central Bank’s website,’ a spokesperson said.

‘The Central Bank is very aware that scams can be performed by using various methods to target consumers, for example, using social media, fake websites, cloning/using the details of authorised firms on their websites to increase the appearance of legitimacy.’

The bank launched a campaign to encourage consumers to take what it dubbed the SAFE (Stop, Assess, Factcheck, Expose & Report) test before making any financial decisions or providing any personal information. ‘Never provide personal information or agree to send money until satisfied that the firm is authorised and genuine. If what’s being offered seems too good to be true, it probably is and we advise consumers to be on their guard or alert to the possibility that it may be fraudulent or indeed a scam.’

If you in any way feel uneasy about a firm and what it is offering or have become a victim of a scam the Central Bank urges that you contact it via its website or by telephone.

‘All instances of alleged unauthorised activity are investigated by the Central Bank,’ the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, it emerged that a UK watchdog spent almost £600,000 (€700,000) on Google adverts last year as it tried to warn consumers about internet scams.

It advertised on Google because that is where most of the scam ads appear. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is locked in a battle over advertising space with fraudsters, who are also splashing out millions of pounds every year on Google and other sites to promote their dodgy schemes. When we queried how much it was making from ‘bad ads’, Google did not deny that the figure amounted to many billions.

Google is making money both from the fraudsters paying to advertise their scams as well as financial regulators warning about them. But internet titans have no obligation to check whether financial products being advertised on their sites are legitimate – or even whether the firm paying for the space is regulated.

The Mail is calling for web giants to be made legally responsible for blocking and removing scams from their platforms.