The UK financial services regulator took enforcement action against 74 “finfluencers” last year, as it continues to target unregulated individuals who use social media to give financial advice.
Last year was the second year to see a steep rise in action against so-called finfluencers, who use social media to offer financial advice, often without the necessary credentials.
According to figures from a Freedom of Information request by BrokerChooser, which matches traders with brokers, there were 74 enforcement actions in 2025 and 27 in 2024. This compares with just 11 in the previous four years combined.
Enforcement actions include cease and desist letters, warning alerts, interviews under caution, criminal action and arrests.
Last year, warning alerts accounted for 50 of the 74 total enforcement actions, while there were three cases of criminal action and three arrests. In 2024, there were no warning alerts or arrests, but criminal action was taken in nine cases.
In a statement last year, Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said: “Our message to finfluencers is loud and clear. They must act responsibly and only promote financial products where they are authorised to do so – or face the consequences.”
This year, the FCA and 16 other regulators worldwide took part in what they called a “week of action”, which included enforcement activity, consumer awareness campaigns, and educational programmes for finfluencers who want to act responsibly.
Smart said: “This collective push with international partners is vital in helping to protect millions of consumers from harm. We will only make real progress in the fight against financial crime if every part of the system plays its role – including social media firms.”
Adam Nasli, head broker analyst at BrokerChooser, said: “A practical rule of thumb for retail investors online is this: if an investment opportunity or product cannot be accessed through a well-regulated online broker supervised by authorities such as the FCA, the SEC or major EU regulators, investors should approach it with extreme caution – or avoid it altogether.
“Regulation does not eliminate market risk or even the risk of fraud, but it significantly reduces the likelihood of bad actors holding on to traders’ money and the emergence of misleading structures and uneven playing fields.”
BrokerChooser said in its own research of 100 TikTok trading videos, only six encouraged viewers to do their own research, with 80% of them containing misleading information.
The FCA uses data and technology to identify and shut down websites and apps that could cause financial harm. It scans hundreds of thousands of websites every day, using the latest technology to pinpoint those that could cause consumers financial harm.
Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the FCA, said last year that the regulator had “embraced data and technology to crack down on harm and ensure high standards”.
It was in July 2022 that the FCA announced that rather than react to problems after consumers have been affected, technology was improving the regulator’s use of analytics to gain insights and prevent future problems. The websites blocked were suspected of promoting financial services without permission, while the FCA worked with tech giants to identify apps offering unauthorised services.
