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Natwest Group plc

06/02/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/02/2023 04:31

Top scams used by fraudsters pretending to be celebrities

Financial capability and learning

Top scams used by fraudsters pretending to be celebrities

NatWest's annual Celebrity Scam Super League table reveals the celebrities that fraudsters are using to steal millions of pounds.

02 Jun 2023 .2 mins

NatWest's annual Celebrity Scam Super League features the highest value scam cases in which a celebrity image has been used to lure consumers into making a bogus investment.

Top findings

Take a look at the celebrities who top the list, and the scams used by fraudsters:

1. This year Dragon's Den star Peter Jones tops the list. Over £285k was lost due to a promotional article featuring an interview with Peter Jones which looked like a genuine newspaper interview.

2. Sir David Attenborough - £275k was lost following an advert on Twitter that featured an image of David Attenborough alongside text falsely claiming he makes £125k per month from stocks and shares related to gold, natural gas and oil.

3. Piers Morgan - £232k was lost to an investment supposedly endorsed by Piers Morgan.

4. Jeff Bezos - £158k was lost due an advert on Google for an investment opportunity promoted by Jeff Bezos on a new Amazon trading platform for crypto currency.

5. Martin Lewis - £149k was lost to a scam advert on Facebook featuring Martin Lewis, in relation to Crypto currency investment.

6. Elon Musk - £42k was lost following a crypto opportunity with a supposed endorsement from Elon Musk.

7. Bradley Walsh - £10k was lost due to an advert posing to be from Bradley Walsh, stating he had made enough money to buy houses and cars, with an explicit recommendation for a company which turned out to be fraudulent.

Did you know?

Investment scams cost consumers £114.1m in 2022 according to UK Finance, down 34% on the previous year. NatWest continues to invest in raising awareness and prevention, including warnings online and in the mobile banking app encouraging customers to think carefully before making investments.