Martin Lewis sues Facebook over flood of scam ads using his name
MoneySavingExpert.com founder and TV presenter Martin Lewis is taking Facebook to the High Court. He’s launching a defamation lawsuit against the social media giant over more than 50 fake adverts exploiting his face and name to promote scams.
Scam ads fool millions with fake Martin endorsements
Lewis says millions of Brits have seen adverts claiming he backs dodgy get-rich-quick schemes like ‘Bitcoin Code’ and ‘Cloud Trader’. These scams push risky binary trading platforms banned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for being near-guaranteed money traps.
“Enough is enough,” Lewis said. “I’ve been fighting for over a year to stop these scams using my name to rip vulnerable people off. One woman lost over £100,000.”
Facebook accused of ignoring repeated warnings
Despite repeated requests to remove fake ads, Facebook allegedly lets them stay up for days or weeks. When one scam gets taken down, nearly identical ads quickly pop up again.
“Facebook claims it’s a platform, not a publisher. But it’s happily profiting by promoting fraud,” Lewis added. “It should be forced to take responsibility and clean up its act.”
Legal heavyweights on the case
Top lawyer Mark Lewis of Seddons, who won the Jack Monroe libel case and represented phone-hacking victims, is leading the fight. The team is demanding exemplary damages—meaning a big fine to hit Facebook where it hurts and stop it treating payouts as just a business cost.
“Facebook is not above the law,” Mark Lewis said. “The price of causing misery must be very high.”
Martin Lewis stresses any damages he receives personally will be donated to anti-scam charities. But the core aim is clear: protect the public from fake adverts preying on trust and bust Facebook’s role in letting fraud flourish on its platform.
