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The UK’s financial regulator is urging major tech companies to take stronger action against the ongoing issue of individuals switching between social media accounts to continue promoting unauthorized financial schemes.
Many “finfluencers” have avoided actions from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by simply using different accounts after being asked to shut down their original ones, the regulator informed MPs on Wednesday.
Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, told the House of Commons Treasury select committee, “We can’t allow this content to reappear just 12 hours later. This is a major concern.”
“Currently, we must request the removal of each account separately,” Castledine added. “The large tech platforms have the capability to detect these accounts; they must take initiative to prevent this cycle from continuing.”
Last year, the FCA received around 25,000 complaints about unauthorized businesses, she noted.
The FCA is working to tackle finfluencers—social media figures who promote financial schemes or trading strategies without the necessary permissions—by issuing guidelines on such promotions and starting legal actions against offenders last year.
In 2024, the regulator charged nine individuals, including former stars from reality shows Love Island and The Only Way is Essex, for promoting an unauthorized trading scheme to their combined 4.5 million followers. The trials for these nine cases won’t begin until 2027.
After presenting a video of an unlawful finfluencer’s social media promotion featuring luxurious cars and homes, Castledine mentioned the regulator is discussing with the government about new legislation that would impose harsher prison sentences for law violators in this field.
Castledine indicated her goal is to raise the maximum prison term from two years to five years for the offense of advertising unauthorized financial promotions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
She added that people don’t necessarily have to follow finfluencers to encounter their promotions, as social media algorithms often suggest such content based on users’ viewing patterns.
Steve Smart, joint executive director for enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, informed MPs that there have been “multiple cases where promotions are actually scams or frauds, causing people to lose a significant amount, if not all, of their money.”
He explained that the two main categories of finfluencers are scammers and individuals providing unauthorized financial advice, such as suggesting others follow their trading methods.
Dame Meg Hillier, a Labour MP and chair of the committee, expressed her disbelief that no finfluencers have faced convictions yet. “It’s obvious there’s an enormous amount of work to be done, and online platforms surely have a responsibility in this too.”
