Which?: Millions scammed on platforms owned by tech giants since they pledged to tackle fraud

Millions of people have been scammed on platforms owned by tech giants since they signed a ‘world first' pledge to do more to tackle online fraud, new Which? research has found.

The consumer champion is calling on the government to bring forward implementation of the Online Safety Act and fines for firms that fail to stamp out online fraud, as its research reveals around 6.6 million people in the UK lost money to online scams in the last 12 months.

Three quarters of those scammed online - just under five million - reported falling victim on platforms that committed to the last government's voluntary Online Fraud Charter, which marks its first anniversary this week.

Tech companies - including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (Twitter) and YouTube - vowed to adopt “a raft of measures” to protect users from scam content. These included verifying new advertisers and promptly removing any fraudulent content.

However, Which?'s latest research suggests scammers are continuing to run rampant on their platforms. 

Which? surveyed over 2,000 UK adults to find out if the charter has had an impact on the number of scams consumers encounter on online platforms and if they feel safer online in the year since the initiative started. 

One in five (22%) said they had come across suspicious ads or messages every day when online in the last six months. This is likely to be several times a day for some people who are often on social media or looking up information using a search engine. 

The majority of the 6.6 million who were scammed said they fell victim on social media (63%), but fraud was also common on search engines (42%), online marketplaces (39%) and messaging platforms (23%). 

The most common platforms for scams were Facebook (37%), Google (33%), Instagram (20%), Amazon (18%) and WhatsApp (18%). 

Tech firms that signed the charter agreed to take action within six months - but it appears online scams are still out of control. Since then, Which? has exposed scores of scam ads on social media including fraudulent ads for investments, luxury advent calendars, restaurant offers and winter fuel payments. 

The ongoing prevalence of online scams has left consumers anxious and distrustful. Nearly three-quarters of UK adults (73%) said they do not trust that the ads they see on social media or search engines are genuine. 

Which?'s research found the Online Fraud Charter has not made consumers feel safer online. Trust in online platforms has not improved in the year since the Charter was introduced. 

A third (34%) were less likely to trust online platforms now, compared to a year ago and only three per cent felt more confident using online platforms than they did a year ago.

It is clear that online fraud is still rife and the consumer champion is concerned there is a lack of urgency from the government and regulators to properly tackle the fraud epidemic. 

The Online Safety Act must be implemented in full as soon as possible or the government risks letting criminals target millions more people. The current timetable - which suggests the platforms in scope of the fraudulent advertising duties in the Act may not be held accountable until 2027 - is simply not good enough.

Ofcom needs to put the regulations in place much sooner. Lord Hanson, the Fraud Minister, must ensure that the government ends the fragmented approach to fraud prevention and leads a more coordinated approach across the tech, banking and telecoms sectors to better protect consumers from fraudsters. 

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: 

“Our research has found that in spite of the Online Fraud Charter's promises, fraud is still rife on online platforms in the UK - with 6.6 million losing money to online scams in the last 12 months. 

“For every week the government fails to take action, we lose millions to fraudsters and organised crime groups - taking money from productive firms, reducing overall levels of investment in the UK economy and damaging consumer confidence. The government and regulators need to act urgently to tackle the fraud epidemic or risk millions more falling victim to scammers. 

“Under the current timetable for the Online Safety Act, platforms in scope of the fraudulent advertising duties in the Act may not be held accountable until 2027 - this is simply not good enough. Ofcom needs to put the regulations in place much sooner and the Fraud Minister must ensure a more coordinated approach working with regulators and the tech, banking and telecom sectors to stop the fraud epidemic.”

-ENDS- 

Notes to editors 

Research

Yonder, on behalf of Which?, conducted an online survey of 2,068 UK adults aged 18+. Fieldwork took place between 8th and 10th of November 2024. The data was weighted to be nationally representative. Some statistics will not add up to 100 per cent for a single question because respondents could select multiple answer options. This reflects the fact that some people may have lost money to more than one scam. 

The research defined ‘being scammed online' as losing money to a scam. The figures in this release do not include those who were scammed for other means such as personal data, or those who realised they were being scammed before any money was lost. This means the actual number of people affected is likely to be higher than what is reported here. 

Calculation explanation: In the survey, 253 respondents (out of 2,068) reported losing money to an online scam, equivalent to 6.6million people (6,630,416) when scaled to the total UK adult population using the latest ONS data. Of those, 187 respondents (74% of 2,068) lost money through platforms that have signed the Online Fraud Charter, which equates to an estimated 4.9 million people (4,900,742,187 out 2,068).

Read more about some of the scams Which? has found on online platforms here. 

Right of replies

Amazon, Google and Meta had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.