In Business Questions today I called for a parliamentary debate on internet scams, citing the case of a constituent who was the victim of an online bitcoin scam.
The scam in question was advertised using supportive pictures and quotes attributed to Dragons Den entrepreneurs. In Parliament I highlighted the similarities with the ongoing court case between Facebook and money saving expert Martin Lewis, who claims that his image was used to accompany scam ads for ‘get-rich-quick‘ schemes.
Speaking in the chamber, I said “My constituent was the victim of a financial scam advertised on the internet, losing £39,000 in a bitcoin scam which purported to be backed by members of Dragons Den. This is similar to the issue raised by Martin Lewis in his challenge to Facebook. Can we have a debate in this House to highlight cases like this and make sure that internet-based companies using paid advertising take their responsibility to protect the public seriously?”