The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stepped up its actions after witnessing a “growing number of misleading and illegal financial promotions” adverts.
The City watchdog revealed that nearly 20,000 financial promotions were withdrawn or amended after an intervention last year.
This is nearly double the 2023 figure, which stood at over 10,000.
Cryptoasset, debt solutions and claims management company promotions were the main culprits.
Claims management companies (CMCs) file for compensation on a consumer’s behalf when they think they might be entitled to money back on a transaction. They often operate on a no-win no fee basis – but often demand a large portion of any pay out.
The regulator highlighted that many of the ads were related to housing disrepair and motor finance claims targeted at “vulnerable consumers”.
It was also revealed that 2,240 warnings were issued by the watchdog about unauthorised or potentially scam firms in 2024. The regulator stated that “while this is a decrease of two per cent from 2,286 in 2023, the alerts remain high compared to historical levels.”
Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said: “Over the past year, we have seen a growing number of misleading and illegal financial promotions.
“We have stepped up our efforts in response to make sure that financial promotions are clear, fair, and accurate.
“We expect firms to take the necessary steps to meet standards and will continue to work with other bodies, including social media platforms, to prevent illegal promotions being pushed to consumers.”
The regulator also recently increased its scrutiny of those touting financial services products on social media, with targeted action against so-called ‘finfluencers’.
Last October, the FCA revealed it interviewed 20 ‘finfluencers’ under caution.