The Financial Conduct Authority is leading a global campaign of action to tackle illegal finfluencers who are scamming and conning consumers.
This week the FCA and 16 other global regulators have taken part in a week of action which included enforcement activity, consumer awareness campaigns and educational programmes for finfluencers who want to act responsibly.
The FCA says that in the UK recently it has:
• Secured a guilty plea from Geordie Shore’s Aaron Chalmers for illegal promotions on social media. Criminal proceedings have been commenced against a further 2 individuals for similar offences.
• Sent 4 targeted warning letters to individuals suspected of engaging in unauthorised financial promotions.
• Issued 34 warning alerts against unauthorised firms or individuals, and updated an additional 14 warnings.
• Made 120 account takedown requests to social media platforms hosting illegal finfluencer content. Within these accounts, the FCA identified 1,267 illegal financial adverts, which reached a minimum of 2,338,372 UK accounts. 66% of these adverts were from firms or individuals already on the FCA's Warning List.
The regulator is calling for social media platforms to do more to halt illegal financial promotions at source. It says social media platforms are not doing enough to uphold their own policies to block illegal content.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "This collective push with international partners is vital in helping to protect millions of consumers from harm. We will only make real progress in the fight against financial crime if every part of the system plays its role - including social media firms."
The FCA's latest activity follows a previous international week of action with 8 other regulators in June 2025.
Consumers are encouraged to use the FCA Firm Checker to confirm if a firm is authorised. The Firm Checker also shows unauthorised firms and individuals that are on the FCA’s Warning List.
Among the global regulators taking part were those in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Qatar, Singapore and the UAE.
The FCA defines 'finfluencers' as social media personalities who use their platform to promote financial products and share insights and advice with their followers. It says many financial social media content creators are acting legitimately and not breaking any laws however there are other finfluencers that tout products or services illegally and without authorisation through online videos and posts. They use the pretence of a lavish lifestyle, often falsely, to promote success.