Peter Jones has topped NatWest’s 'Scam Super League' for the highest value case in which a celebrity image has been used to convince consumers into making an investment into a fake venture.

The bank said that £285,000 was lost after one of its customers responded to a bogus promotional article featuring an interview with the Dragon’s Den star.

“Criminals are using some of the UK’s most trusted and respected celebrity images to steal millions of pounds,” said Stuart Skinner, NatWest scam expert. “I’d urge you to be extremely cautious of fake celebrity investment adverts seen online. A cross industry effort with social media companies is required to stop this crime.”

According to UK Finance, investment scams cost consumers £114 million in 2022, a decline of 34 per cent on the previous year.

Sir David Attenborough came second in NatWest's list, with one customer losing £275,000 after seeing a Twitter ad with an image of the broadcaster alongside text falsely claiming he makes £125,000 per month from stocks and shares related to gold, natural gas and oil.

NatWest said that the majority of scam ads appear on social media, with Facebook and Twitter within the top seven cases in its Scam Super League.

In third place was Piers Morgan, with one customer losing more than £232,000 to a fake ad posted on Facebook.

Last year, Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield jointly topped the table but this didn't make it into the top seven cases.

Other celebrities appearing on the list include Jeff Bezos, Martin Lewis, and Bradley Walsh.

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