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More than double the number of money-related adverts were banned or changed by the financial watchdog in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it intervened on just under 20,000 misleading ads last year, with about half of them coming from consumer claims companies.
So-called claims management companies (CMCs) file for compensation on a consumer’s behalf when they think they might be entitled to money back on a transaction.
They often operate on a no-win no fee basis – but the catch is usually paying a large proportion of any payout to the CMC.
Over the past year, we have seen a growing number of misleading and illegal financial promotions
Lucy Castledine, FCA
The watchdog said just under 9,200 ads from this type of company were scrapped after it intervened last year.
Many of them were targeting vulnerable customers over issues like crumbling housing or claims of mis-sold car finance loans.
The FCA said that while it had ramped up its policing of misleading adverts, there were also more of them in 2024 than in previous years.
It also highlighted concerns over ads from cryptocurrency and debt advice companies.
Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said: “Over the past year, we have seen a growing number of misleading and illegal financial promotions.
“We have stepped up our efforts in response to make sure that financial promotions are clear, fair, and accurate.
“We expect firms to take the necessary steps to meet standards and will continue to work with other bodies, including social media platforms, to prevent illegal promotions being pushed to consumers.”
The regulator also urged social media platforms to work harder at proactively picking out ads which might be misleading or illegal.