FCA crackdown on finfluencers: conviction, warnings and account removals

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken co-ordinated action against illegal financial promotions on social media, working with 16 regulators including those in Australia, Canada, Qatar and the UAE¹. The action identified more than 1,200 potentially illegal financial promotions and issued dozens of warnings to individuals and firms, and the regulator requested the removal of more than 100 social media accounts¹. One social media "finfluencer" has been convicted of illegal promotions¹.

In the UK, only authorised firms and people can promote investments or give financial advice¹. By law, only FCA-authorised people or firms can provide financial advice, where a personalised recommendation is made based on a person's specific situation, or conduct a financial promotion, in which someone is induced into financial activity such as taking out a loan or investing¹. Those who carry out these activities online without authorisation are breaking the law and can be prosecuted, and the FCA has enforcement powers including the ability to prosecute offenders¹.

Which? reported that many finfluencers avoid regulated activity and instead sell education and training courses or materials that purport to tell people how to pick their own investments to build wealth¹. Such content can still be harmful and misleading, with some users persuaded to spend large sums on courses and seminars of dubious value, and because this activity is unregulated it falls largely to social media platforms to police it¹.

In November 2025, Which? shared eight examples of widely available finfluencer content with chartered financial planner Dr Robin Keyte for analysis¹. They spanned investments, property, tax, crypto and general wealth-building tips, and Dr Keyte identified misleading statements, factual errors, incorrect assumptions and severely oversimplified claims¹. Which? said one of the finfluencers appeared to stray close to regulated activity by promoting a particular investment product and provider despite not being authorised by the FCA, a concern it flagged to the regulator¹.

Why it matters for households

The action concerns content that can lead people into unsuitable financial decisions or into scams¹. The FCA's figures cover promotions identified during the week of action, not the total volume of such content online, and Which? reported that the sheer volume of unregulated money content available shows platform policing is not working¹.

Where people pay for financial advice, charges vary. With investments it is common to be charged a percentage of the investment, with an average fee of 2.4%, while advice on other products such as insurance or mortgages may be charged as a flat fee or an hourly fee for the adviser's time¹. Impartial free guidance is available from MoneyHelper and Pension Wise, both at moneyhelper.org.uk, and from Citizens Advice at citizensadvice.org.uk¹. Whether a person or firm is regulated, and any warnings about it, can be checked using the FCA's firm checker¹.

The FCA's role and powers are set out in our guide to what the Financial Conduct Authority does for consumers, and questions about who represents consumers in this area are covered in our page on who speaks for consumers.

What happens next

No further steps or timetable have been reported beyond the week of action and the conviction¹.