Finfluencers, crypto and the changing face of financial crime

The FCA has continued its programme of enforcement action against finfluencers, with recent action focused on individuals promoting risky or unauthorised investments on social media. This is a growing area of concern, and not only because of the direct harm caused to the individuals who act on bad advice.

What makes finfluencer activity particularly significant from a financial crime perspective is how it connects to broader fraud ecosystems. Young people are increasingly receiving investment guidance from social media rather than regulated professionals, and fake crypto schemes, cloned investment platforms and get-rich-quick promotions are among the most common vehicles for drawing people in. The CIFAS Fraudscape report warns that fraud is becoming more industrialised, and investment scams sit at the heart of that trend.

The FCA’s Seal the Deal campaign is well worth highlighting here. It is a straightforward but effective reminder to consumers to check the FCA’s financial services register before committing to any investment. The fines handed out to individual finfluencers to date have been modest, and many would argue they fall well short of what is needed to deter the behaviour. This is, however, an area where regulatory appetite is clearly growing.

For firms, the connection to financial crime controls is direct. Investment scams frequently rely on accounts opened using stolen or fabricated identities, which means robust identity verification is one of the most important defences available. Stopping fraudulent account opening early can help to break the chain before any funds begin to move. Further down the line, behavioural and transaction monitoring should be configured to flag the patterns most commonly associated with investment fraud: payments to new payees or crypto exchanges, rapid movement of funds through multiple accounts, and customers suddenly investing large sums with no prior activity of that kind. Adding friction to payment processes, whether through warnings, payment delays or additional authentication for high-value or first-time transfers, adds another layer of protection.

Intelligence sharing through networks such as CIFAS is also one of the most powerful tools available. Fraudsters do not limit themselves to a single firm. They move quickly across different banks and platforms, which is why sharing data on frauds and fraud trends is one of the best ways to identify and disrupt this activity.

The FCA recently carried out raids on eight London sites suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, working alongside police and HMRC. The focus of the operation was concerns that crypto was being used to launder criminal funds, and the FCA was explicit on one key point: there are currently no FCA-registered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating in the UK.

Crypto itself is not illegal. What the FCA is targeting is the operation of crypto trading outside the required AML controls. Unregistered crypto trading creates exactly the conditions that money launderers look for: the ability to move funds quickly across borders, obscure ownership and avoid oversight. The FCA is making clear that operating outside the registration and AML framework carries real enforcement consequences.

For firms with any exposure to crypto-related customers or counterparties, this is a timely reminder to consider whether those relationships sit within a properly registered and controlled environment.

One of the most grounding observations from this month’s episode comes from Claire Rees, who has spent 25 years working in financial crime. Her view is clear: very little about financial crime is genuinely new. When she started in the industry, the threats were forged signatures, altered cheques, postal intercepts and staff manually altering passbooks and ledgers. Whether it is a finfluencer promoting an unauthorised investment scheme on TikTok or a crypto trader operating without FCA registration, the underlying intent is the same: to deceive people and move money. The mechanics have been modernised, but the motivations have not.

Technology makes financial crime faster, harder to detect and easier to scale, and AI is making fraud more convincing than ever. But the perpetrators remain human. AI is not where fraud starts. It starts with people who use whatever tools are available to commit crime.

What has changed is the environment. Social media, digital platforms and crypto have made it easier to target potential victims, build trust quickly and move money faster than ever before. That is the big challenge for regulators, firms and technology providers: to keep step with how quickly the methods are evolving, so we can work together to disrupt the criminals.

This blog accompanies the May 2026 episode of ThirdEye View, hosted by Claire Rees and Phil Roberts,  from ThirdEye.  Claire brings extensive expertise in financial crime prevention as Global Financial Crime Regulatory Specialist, whilst Phil serves as Business Development Manager for ThirdEye in the UK, helping organisations navigate complex regulatory landscapes.