Dragon's Den star and David Attenborough exploited by investment scam-ads

Dragon's Den star, Peter Jones tops the NatWest Celebrity Scam Super League, which features the highest value cases in which a celebrity image has been used to lure consumers into making a bogus investment.

Over £285k was lost after a customer responded to a promotional article featuring an interview with Peter Jones which looked like a genuine newspaper interview.  

Sir David Attenborough features at number two on the list. A customer lost £275k after seeing an advertisement on Twitter. The advert featured an image of Attenborough alongside text falsely claiming he makes £125k per month from stocks and shares related to gold, natural gas and oil. 

The majority of scam ads appear on social media. Facebook and Twitter feature within the top seven cases in the Scam Super League. Twitter owner Elon Musk was used in an advert which ended up costing a customer £42,500.

Last year Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield jointly topped the table but this year they don't make it into the top seven cases. There is evidence to show criminals continue to use the television presenters in scam ads, however, they have not been successfully used in high value cases with NatWest customers. 

Other celebrities appearing on the list include well-known business leaders and popular TV personalities, including, Piers Morgan, Jeff Bezos, Martin Lewis, and Bradley Walsh. Martin Lewis dropped to fifth in the table this year but continues to be used in a high volume of cases, despite him being very vocal that he would never endorse an investment in this way.

Investment scams cost consumers £114.1m in 2022 according to UK Finance, down 34% on the previous year. NatWest continues to invest in raising awareness and prevention. 

Stuart Skinner, NatWest scam expert said: "Criminals are using some of the UK's most trusted and respected celebrity images to steal millions of pounds. I'd urge you to be extremely cautious of fake celebrity investment adverts seen online. A cross industry effort with social media companies is required to stop this crime."

NatWest has warnings online and in the mobile banking app encouraging customers to think carefully before making investments.