Martin Lewis clarifies he hasn’t been arrested as he hits out at scam ads

Consumer rights champion Martin Lewis has taken to social media to clarify he has not been arrested after ‘criminal scammers’ posted fake advertisements using his likeness.

Mr Lewis, the founder of moneysavingexpert.com, took umbrage with fictitious reports claiming he had been arrested, beaten up, died, or had fought Andy Burnham, Nigel Farage or Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey.

“Thankfully, as far as I’m aware, none have ever happened. These are criminal scammers’ fake ads. They’re rife on social media right now. They’re trying to get you to click to fake sites,” he told his 3.2 followers on Twitter/X.

“I don’t do any ads, never mind for Quantum AI, Bitcoin Trader, Bitcoin Code, or ‘stuff the establishment don’t want you to know’. Please be vigilant.”

The British activist, 54, warned last week that “a huge rash of scam ads” using his likeness had appeared across social media and were “trying to latch onto you to steal your money”.

Earlier this year, Reform leader Nigel Farage complained to X over a series of similar AI-generated fake adverts which also depicted him fighting with the Bank of England governor.

Farage said at the time that he hoped X would take action to remove the ads “incredibly quickly”. The Bank of England also urged users to report the ads.

“Unfortunately, fake adverts impersonating the Bank of England and other central banks are on the rise,” Bailey said. “These scams are designed to criminally exploit the public, especially the vulnerable, when they are online.”

Adverts promoting crypto scams on Twitter/X were flagged as early as 2023 as major brands left the site following Elon Musk’s $44bn purchase in late 2022.

Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd has also since warned his followers that scammers are using AI-generated images and videos of him to con fans.

The actor, who played Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four film series, wrote on Instagram that he had met a fan at a convention who was “under the impression that she was in an extramarital relationship with me for over a year”.

“She showed me hundreds of AI images and videos that someone claiming to be me had sent to her. The images were explicit and disturbing,” he said.

He said a Facebook page dedicated to the crime drama Elsbeth, in which Gruffudd peformed, had “sent her a cell number and asked her to communicate via Telegram”, an instant messaging app.

“Please do not engage and never send money!” Gruffudd urged other followers. “I urge you to ignore and block all contact from anyone that claims to be me.

“Lastly, if you have been targeted by this person, please report them and their number to the police for investigation. I have done the same.”