Martin Lewis furious over ‘lying, scamming thieves’ who use his identity to steal money

28 April 2022, 11:48 | Updated: 28 April 2022, 13:39

Martin Lewis angrily denounces Bitcoin scammers on This Morning

Martin Lewis has warned This Morning viewers who have fallen victim to fraudsters pretending to be him.

Martin Lewis has slammed fraudsters who continue to steal money by using his face.

The Money Saving Expert appeared on This Morning on Wednesday via video call to chat about the cost of living crisis.

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And speaking to hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the 49-year-old became visibly emotional when a viewer asked about a very sophisticated scam.

Reading out a question from viewer Sarah, Holly said: "I've seen Martin Lewis championing Bitcoin purchases, but my concern is..."

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As Martin could be seen shaking his head, Holly continued: "These are Bitcoin purchases asking for £2,000 to be transferred over and then be transferred back. Can you tell me if this is genuine?"

Martin then responded: "It's a scam, it's a scam, it's absolutely a scam. I do not do any adverts.

"Look, Bitcoin is a speculative investment and I don't do speculative investments.

"That's why I don't talk about it. I'm not going to go into it, good or bad, there's a lot of debate around there. Some people love it, some people say it's destabilising.

"I certainly wouldn't put more money than you can afford to lose in it but it may very well get you a lot of money if it goes right.

"But none of this is about Bitcoin. The stuff on social media and the stuff you're emailed with my face on it - and often yours too Holly - telling you about some life-changing incredible way that has revolutionised my life is lying, scamming thieves trying to steal your money.

"I do not appear in adverts. I do not try and pump investments. If you see those - even if there's a picture of me with quotes linking to what looks like a newspaper site - it's not real."

He continued: "I know someone who is losing £200,000 and they're talking about taking their own life.

"THESE ARE SCAMS. Do not give them your money. Report them to the police."

The Met Office has also shared a Tweet saying they had received over 1,000 reports about emails promoting Bitcoin.

They wrote: "The team at Action Fraud received over 1,000 reports about emails promoting Bitcoin investment schemes claiming to be endorsed by Martin Lewis".

They added: "This is a scam. You can report suspicious emails by forwarding them to: report@phishing.gov.uk."

This comes after Martin led a joint open letter last year urging the Prime Minister to include paid scam adverts in the Online Safety Bill.

It was also signed by famous faces including Holly, Lorraine Kelly, and Robbie Williams.