Martin Lewis has warned of a major advertising scam where criminals use a fake interview with Rachel Reeves and offer of £2,300 payouts to trick people into giving their bank details.
The online ad is designed to resemble a BBC News story interview between the Chancellor and the broadcaster Iain Dale.
It attempts to draw people in by saying readers who apply early could get a £2,300 payout and urges them to share their bank details on the Quantum AI website.
The scam appears under the banner: “By order of Rachel Reeves, UK residents will start receiving income from taxes”.
Lewis told The Guardian, which first exposed the scam: “As we’re still not going to have any regulation on scams online until the middle of 2026, we still live in a wild west and people are still incredibly at risk from these criminals.”
A scam video of Lewis circulated on social media last year, in which artificial intelligence was used to mimic his face and voice to appearing to promote an app linked with Tesla owner Elon Musk.
The fake video purported to show Lewis in his office talking about an investment in Quantum AI, labelled as “Elon Musk‘s new project”.
MoneySavingExpert’s founder urged ministers to grant the communications regulator Ofcom the powers to tackle online scams.
He explained how scammers mimic “normal” online marketing agencies by using whatever gets them the most clicks and the widest reach.
Lewis explained how former prime minister Rishi Sunak has been used by scammers in the past and now attention has turned to Ms Reeves as criminals try out whether her name will attract people.
The ad appeared on Times Media’s mobile app. A spokesperson told The Guardian the ad was quickly blocked after it was brought to Times Media’s attention.
They added Times Media prioritises consumers’ digital safety and has a responsibility to take the utmost care to make sure all digital advertising on its platforms meet the highest standards.
Mr Dale told the same publication it was “incredibly concerning” the AI scam was seeking to mislead innocent people and expressed his hope that the police would see it as a priority to crack down on it.
He also called for the law to be strengthened, adding: “The trouble is technology is always light years ahead of the law.”
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) said it had spotted the ad and alerted online platforms to remove it.
A Government spokesperson said: “Fraud is a pernicious crime, and we are determined to bring fraudsters to justice.
“In this case, this scam advert was flagged by ASA’s scam ad alert system, and we are pleased it has since been taken down.
“We urge the public to find out more about staying safe from fraud, including how to stop fake online adverts, by visiting the government’s Stop! Think Fraud website.”
