The UK's financial watchdog has said that Brexit will allow it to take legal action against Google and social-media sites for showing adverts for financial scams.Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told MPs that investigators would tackle Google "in a more formal way" if it didn't tighten-its rules to prevent fraudulent adverts.He told the Treasury select committee that before Brexit the FCA had to follow the EU's rules, which didn't cover websites. He added that this "exception" meant scam adverts online didn't face the same level of checks as adverts elsewhere, such as in newspapers and on TV Financial scams have escalated online during the pandemic, as scammers take advantage of the extra time people are spending online.Some frauds offer investments with unrealistically high rates of return, while others promote cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as a way to access pension pots before retirement, using the alleged support of financial experts like Martin Lewis (pictured).
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