FinTelegram has focused on fighting fraudulent marketing campaigns in the crypto space in recent weeks that are used to trap victims for illegally operating brokers. Google UK & Ireland has already shut down the promotion of such campaigns by tightening the condition of financial ads. Last week, the German BaFin issued a Cease and Desist Order against Bitcoin Revolution. Today, the Spanish CNMV issued a warning against Bitcoin Evolution. It’s going in the right direction, but it’s not enough.
The scam campaigns like Bitcoin Evolution or Bitcoin Revolution masquerade as trading robots or trading bots that make investors millionaires. But in fact, they catch victims for scams and illegally operating brokers through dozens of different websites. The scammers use Google, for example, to chase naive consumers via massive advertising. The Californian search giant earns good money and accepts fake publishers from Russia who use it to attack European consumers.
Read our reports on the Russian Google Game here.
Six months after Google imposed stricter rules in UK & Ireland, it still allows advertising of such fraudulent marketing campaigns in the EU. Why nobody knows. These guys are perfectly well aware that these fraud ads facilitate scams and cause damage to consumers. Google UK‘s approach is mainly to the strict behavior of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Most recently, the FCA announced that new, more restrictive rules for crypto advertising would apply from summer 2022.
We found between 5 to 7 financial ads on Google DE today in our tests for the search terms “Bitcoin Evolution” and “Bitcoin Revolution.” In addition, on the first page of the search results, numerous websites are suggested that are directly attributable to the operators of the fraud campaigns.
The warnings and prohibitions of the regulators are only as good as the implementation on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. Here, legislators and regulators still have a long way to go to protect consumers and investors.
