A survey of 2,000 people by Opinium for Hargreaves Lansdown in April 2025 found that 16% of 18-34-year-old investors get investment ideas from X and 16% from TikTok.
Almost one in five (18%) investors in this age group get investment ideas from Reddit and a similar number from Facebook (19%) or Instagram (22%).
Back in January, a Young Money report found that six in 10 young people say they follow finfluencers, with 77% saying they trust everything these social media experts say.
MPs hear evidence
A Treasury Committee session heard yesterday (30 April) that scammers using finfluencing techniques were targeting young people and raising the risk of fraud among those aged 19-40. MPs were told that scammers had taken to finfluencing after legislative crackdowns meant they moved from running boiler room scams or pension cold calling scams.
MPs heard from officials at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who hold responsibility for monitoring influencer content and overseeing enforcement when rules are broken.
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The session heard that many finfluencers have continued to operate even after the FCA requested that their social media accounts be closed down by simply switching to a different one.
Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, told the committee: “We can’t have that content popping up 12 hours later. That is the big call to action. At the moment, we have to submit individual account takedowns. The big tech platforms have got the technology to identify this; they need to be proactive about it, otherwise we will be in a continued whack-a-mole.”
‘Nefarious finfluencers’
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Nefarious finfluencers are finding ways around the steps the FCA is taking to crackdown on financial fraud through online platforms. There are plenty of good actors in this space, offering sensible guidance from regulated people, but there are also a worrying number of people using this approach to defraud their victims.”
Social media platforms have rules in place regarding paid for posts placed by authorised firms. However, this has meant the rise of ‘organic’ posts, which are being put up by scammers. They’re often based overseas, which makes it harder to prosecute them.
The social media platforms will take posts down and block accounts if they are identified by the FCA and a request is sent, but it can take weeks for this to happen, and the FCA said some platforms were slower to act than others.
Coles said: “Once an account is blocked, criminals are using a technique known as life-boating. They begin with a number of similar addresses, so when one is taken down overnight, they can put the same content back up within hours on a similar account.”
Are finfluencers really experts?
Legitimate financial experts generally advise against being taken in by financial advice or investment schemes promoted on social media.
Coles said: “If you are seeing this kind of content online, ask yourself whether your expert really is an expert. There are plenty of people working for regulated businesses, or as independent professionals, who have built up vast banks of knowledge and experience – like financial journalists. However, on social media, there are others who aren’t regulated or qualified. They may not have much experience either.
“There’s also plenty of content from people who are famous for other reasons, dipping their toe in money matters, but just because you’ve heard of them, it doesn’t make them an expert in this area.”
