The Martin Lewis Scam Becomes Number One on Natwest’s Celebrity Scam List
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Celebrity scams have been among the most popular types of scams for years now, to the point where the UK bank NatWest created what it calls the Celebrity Scam Super League. According to the bank’s celebrity scam list, the UK money-saving expert Martin Lewis is currently at the top, with the largest number of cases where his name or image were used in an attempt to defraud investors.
NatWest’s Top-Ranking Scams
NatWest’s Celebrity Scam Super League collects data on all scams where a celebrity’s name or image has been used without their knowledge to lure in consumers and trick them into making fake investments. Once the data is in, the bank ranks the highest-value cases and comes up with a list that shows which celebrity is currently the most popular among scammers.
The Martin Lewis scam has topped the table, with multiple high-figure scams left in its wake. According to the bank’s data, one customer lost as much as £150,000, which is more than double the amount stolen in scams involving the name and photos of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Even so, the Elon Musk scams are the second-largest in the sector, with around £62,000 taken from tricked investors. A close third is Jennifer Aniston, with £58,000.
Lewis is well aware of this type of scam, as well as the fact that they use his name and images to trick investors. He spoke of deep fake videos that scammers have made, impersonating him and using his likeness to give false investment advice to consumers, many of which are newcomers to the financial industry who are not aware of the risks and dangers.
https://x.com/MartinSLewis/status/1677000805738479618
The case that brought the Martin Lewis scam to the number one spot on the list, however, involves a crypto investment scam. The customer who was tricked into sending their money to the hackers received a cold call from an unknown individual impersonating the Money Saving Expert. The phone call came relatively soon after the victim looked up various investment opportunities on the internet.
Other Celebrities Whose Names And Faces Have Been Used In Scams
Apart from Lewis, Musk, and Aniston, other celebrities commonly used by scammers include Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, actress Lauren Cohan from The Walking Dead, Jeremy Clarkson, and the US reality TV star Dr Bradley Schaeffer.
Commenting on the new situation on NatWest’s list, the bank’s leader of the fraud prevention team, Stuart Skinner, said that criminals are increasingly using images of famous people. They tend to focus on those who are known for being successful businessmen or are well-known for giving financial advice.
Through these methods, they have tricked countless investors and have stolen millions of pounds.
“Over one in ten consumers have lost money to fraudsters in the last 12 months. We’d urge people to be wary of fake celebrity investment adverts or if contacted by someone saying they are a celebrity. A cross-industry effort with social media companies is required to eradicate this type of fraud,” he said.
