The City watchdog has launched a clampdown on ‘get rich quick’ schemes promoted by social media influencers – and turned to a reality TV star for help.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Advertising Standards Authority have teamed up with Sharon Gaffka to warn financial influencers – dubbed ‘fin-fluencers’ – about risks involved in endorsing products such as crypto.
Regulators are concerned that minor celebrities are convincing people to plough money into products that are unsuitable, highly risky, or even fraudulent.
Partner: Sharon Gaffka will help to fight financial scams
Gaffka, who starred in Love Island in 2021, said: ‘When you leave a show like Love Island, you are bombarded with opportunities to promote products and work with brands.
‘If, like me, you’re new to this kind of work, it can be a little bit overwhelming.’
Although Gaffka, 27, is best known for joining the Love Island villa, she spent several months at the Department for Transport and was a Brexit policy adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, according to her Linkedin profile.
The regulators said they will engage with influencers and their agents, providing information about what could be an illegal or misleading financial promotion.
The FCA recently revealed a record 8,582 misleading promotions were blocked or amended last year – 14 times more than in 2021. It also published more than 1,800 alerts to prevent savers losing money to scams.
Reality star Kim Kardashian last year failed to say she was paid more than £200,000 by the crypto company EthereumMax to publish an Instagram post about its tokens.
Kardashian, who has 344million followers on Instagram and nearly 75million on Twitter, was fined £1million by US regulators.
Action film star Steven Seagal and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr have also been fined for flouting rules about crypto promotions.
Ex-footballer Michael Owen came under fire last year, saying a crypto investment could not fall in value.
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