MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has said he intends to sue Facebook over a series of scam adverts posted on the site by criminals.

Financial Planning Today revealed on 13 April how Mr Lewis and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden were left horrified after their identities were used to promote Bitcoin scams which they had not endorsed.

Today Mr Lewis revealed his intention to sue the social media giant in a “groundbreaking” defamation lawsuit.

He said his reputation had been “besmirched” by the long-running saga and lashed what he called Facebook’s “unending greed to keep raking in its ad cash.”

Writing on MoneySavingExpert.com’s blog, he branded the scams “disgusting” and attacked Facebook, for failing to stop them repeatedly appearing on the site.

He said: “Enough is enough. I’ve been fighting for over a year to stop Facebook letting scammers use my name and face to rip off vulnerable people – yet it continues.

“I feel sick each time I hear of another victim being conned because of trust they wrongly thought they were placing in me.

“One lady had over £100,000 taken from her.

“I don’t do adverts. I’ve told Facebook that. Any ad with my picture or name in is without my permission.

“I’ve asked it not to publish them, or at least to check their legitimacy with me before publishing. This shouldn’t be difficult – after all, it’s a leader in face and text recognition. Yet it simply continues to repeatedly publish these adverts and then relies on me to report them, once the damage has been done.

“Even when they are reported, many have been left up for days or weeks.

“And finally, when they are taken down the scammers just launch a new, nearly identical campaign very soon afterwards and the whole rigmarole starts again.”

He added: “It’s time Facebook was made to take responsibility.

“It claims to be a platform not a publisher – yet this isn’t just a post on a web forum, it is being paid to publish, promulgate and promote what are often fraudulent enterprises.

“My hope is this lawsuit will force it to change its system. Nothing else has worked. People need protection.

“And of course, on a personal note, as well as the huge amount of time, stress and effort it takes to continually combat these scams, this whole episode has been extremely depressing – to see my reputation besmirched by such a big company, out of an unending greed to keep raking in its ad cash.”

Mr Lewis’ lawyer Mark Lewis said: “Facebook is not above the law – it cannot hide outside the UK and think that it is untouchable. Exemplary damages are being sought.”

A Facebook spokesman said: “We do not allow adverts which are misleading or false on Facebook and have explained to Martin Lewis that he should report any adverts that infringe his rights and they will be removed.

“We are in direct contact with his team, offering to help and promptly investigating their requests, and only last week confirmed that several adverts and accounts that violated our advertising policies had been taken down.”

MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has said he intends to sue Facebook over a series of scam adverts posted on the site by criminals.

Financial Planning Today revealed on 13 April how Mr Lewis and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden were left horrified after their identities were used to promote Bitcoin scams which they had not endorsed.

Today Mr Lewis revealed his intention to sue the social media giant in a “groundbreaking” defamation lawsuit.

He said his reputation had been “besmirched” by the long-running saga and lashed what he called Facebook’s “unending greed to keep raking in its ad cash.”

Writing on MoneySavingExpert.com’s blog, he branded the scams “disgusting” and attacked Facebook, for failing to stop them repeatedly appearing on the site.

He said: “Enough is enough. I’ve been fighting for over a year to stop Facebook letting scammers use my name and face to rip off vulnerable people – yet it continues.

“I feel sick each time I hear of another victim being conned because of trust they wrongly thought they were placing in me.

“One lady had over £100,000 taken from her.

“I don’t do adverts. I’ve told Facebook that. Any ad with my picture or name in is without my permission.

“I’ve asked it not to publish them, or at least to check their legitimacy with me before publishing. This shouldn’t be difficult – after all, it’s a leader in face and text recognition. Yet it simply continues to repeatedly publish these adverts and then relies on me to report them, once the damage has been done.

“Even when they are reported, many have been left up for days or weeks.

“And finally, when they are taken down the scammers just launch a new, nearly identical campaign very soon afterwards and the whole rigmarole starts again.”

He added: “It’s time Facebook was made to take responsibility.

“It claims to be a platform not a publisher – yet this isn’t just a post on a web forum, it is being paid to publish, promulgate and promote what are often fraudulent enterprises.

“My hope is this lawsuit will force it to change its system. Nothing else has worked. People need protection.

“And of course, on a personal note, as well as the huge amount of time, stress and effort it takes to continually combat these scams, this whole episode has been extremely depressing – to see my reputation besmirched by such a big company, out of an unending greed to keep raking in its ad cash.”

Mr Lewis’ lawyer Mark Lewis said: “Facebook is not above the law – it cannot hide outside the UK and think that it is untouchable. Exemplary damages are being sought.”

A Facebook spokesman said: “We do not allow adverts which are misleading or false on Facebook and have explained to Martin Lewis that he should report any adverts that infringe his rights and they will be removed.

“We are in direct contact with his team, offering to help and promptly investigating their requests, and only last week confirmed that several adverts and accounts that violated our advertising policies had been taken down.”