Facebook has launched a tool for U.K. users to report suspicious ads that they suspect of being scams.
The feature can be accessed by clicking the three dots in the top right corner of the Facebook ad, selecting “Report ad,” choosing “Misleading or scam ad” and then “Send a detailed scam report,” Financial Times reports. When an advertisement is flagged, the team will personally review it and remove it if necessary.
Facebook has also partnered with Citizens Advice to form a specially trained team to assist those who have been targeted by online scams.
“This project means we cannot only support people who have been targeted, but also raise awareness of what to look out for to help prevent online scams [from] happening in the first place,” Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, told the news outlet.
The initiative is intended to increase awareness of financial scams in the U.K., including phishing websites, bank fraud and fake investments selling nonexistent commodities and shares of stock.
The move by Facebook follows an April 2018 defamation lawsuit filed by Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com. The consumer advice and money-saving expert said the social media network published fake advertisements that used his name and face.
Lewis said he had become exasperated by the volume of scam ads misappropriating his image that attempted to trick users into parting with their savings. He added that people were targeted with a get-rich scam ad related to bitcoin.
Earlier in 2019, Lewis withdrew his lawsuit after Facebook agreed to attack the problem head-on by implementing a scam ad reporting feature and establishing a local team to monitor ad trends for anything suspicious.
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