In today’s online world, finding articles featuring celebrities endorsing money-making websites on TV is becoming increasingly common. These articles are scattered liberally within the news on search engine front pages and news aggregator sites and have eye-catching headlines such as ‘Regulator sues a well-known celebrity for what they said on live TV. Every Briton should know about it!’
The pattern is familiar: a celebrity showcases a money-making website on a popular chat show, which the Host then tries out for themselves. The Host then proceeds to make an instant profit before cutting the line of questioning short and quickly moving on to the next topic.
In this blog post, I’ll delve into one such article featuring a celebrity we’ll call “Bryony” and her promotion of a website called “CashFloe.” Join me
as I explore the implications of these endorsements and the importance of doing your research before investing via these sites.
Did a celebrity really endorse THAT?
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed a proliferation in articles that all follow a familiar pattern: a well-known celebrity endorsing a money-making website live on a TV show before the Host signs up via their own mobile phone and, within twenty minutes or so, starts to make money.
These articles all follow a similar theme: a celebrity, appearing on a popular chat show, will be mid conversation with the Host, before unexpectedly pulling out their mobile phone.
The celebrity then proclaims to have made a lot of money via a new money-making website and demonstrates it to the Host, suggesting that they try it for themselves, along with promises of vast wealth for anyone adventurous enough to gamble.
However, no sooner has the Host started to cash in when they get a prompt in their ear asking them to move the conversation along.
Example of a false celebrity endorsement
I recently stumbled upon one such article featuring a well-known celebrity—let’s call her Bryony (not her real name)—who was discussing her latest book or some other project.
Suddenly, she pulled out her mobile phone and started talking about a fantastic new website, which we’ll call CashFloe (not its real name).
The ensuing conversation between the Host and the guest goes something like this:
Bryony: (excitedly) “Host, you won’t believe it! This website—CashFloe—is my secret weapon. It’s like having a money tree in my pocket!”
Host: (leaning in) “Tell us more, Bryony!”
Bryony: “Okay, picture this: You signed up for CashFloe, and it’s all about passive income. You invest a little, and boom! The app does the rest. Stocks, real estate, crypto—it’s got it all. And the best part? You don’t need a finance degree!”
Host: “Impressive! But how does it work?”
Bryony: “Simple. CashFloe analyzes market trends, predicts winners, and invests your spare change. Plus, it gamifies saving—like a financial fitness tracker. You earn badges for hitting milestones, and the site celebrates with confetti. It’s addictive!”
Host: “And the returns?”
Bryony: (grinning) “Host, I’ve seen my money grow faster than my Instagram followers! Compound interest, dividends—it’s like a magic spell. And the website’s mascot? A cute little dollar sign with sunglasses. I call him ‘Cashy.’”
This is usually the cue for our Host to download the app and tap away frenetically.
Host:
“Wow! That’s literally taken minutes to set up my account! What should I do next?”
Bryony:
“There is nothing else to do. We’ll see how much money you’ll earn in 20 minutes.”
Host:
“If it truly works, then what are Brits who don’t have a minimum deposit amount supposed to do?”
Bryony:
“When I learned about it, I had no extra money since we were going through a pandemic. Alternatively, you can use a credit card to fund your account. You really shouldn’t let this opportunity pass you by!”
About 20 minutes later, it was time for the Host to check their balance.
Bryony:
“So, how much did you earn in those 20 minutes?”
Host:
“I can’t believe it! I earned £30, and now my balance is £230!”
With eyes out on Stalks, our Host touches the headphones in his ear before suggesting that the conversation be swiftly moved on. The reason? Our director doesn’t like where this is going.
Exposing the Scammer
Whilst the situation above has been made up, it is based on a genuine article. The article goes on to mention that the conversation was cut short because the Bank of England called the studio.
Their fear caused them to demand that the live broadcast be halted immediately. Taking advantage of this would cause the banking system to lose customers. The only thing people would use their cards for would be withdrawals of their income from the CashFloe app. That isn’t profitable for any bank.
After reading the article, I, like many others, was intrigued. “A celebrity endorsement for a website that makes an instant profit showcased on a flagship chat show? With the added authenticity of the BoE calling to shut down the conversation! This is too good to be true!”
The sad reality is that it usually is too good to be true. The chat show conversations never happened, and the website itself is designed to scam you out of your money. At best, it is likely to be a poor investment choice after an initial bump in profits. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to ensure you’re not caught out.
Ways to Spot and Avoid False Celebrity Scams
Do your research. While Bryony and the website are false, the situation isn’t. The article I’m referring to first appeared in my feeds in July 2025 with the headline, ‘That is a really sad day for the UK! Bank of England sues a well-known celebrity for what he said on live TV. Every Briton should know about it!’ and included a picture of a very cheerful guest and host with a Christmas tree behind them.
This instantly set alarm bells off in my head. Call me old-fashioned, but why would something like this only become newsworthy seven months after the chat show aired? Giving the article publisher the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they only had an old stock image of the Host and guest, I pressed on. However, after some basic googling, I discovered that this particular guest hadn’t appeared on the chat show in question since December 2019. The December date aligns with the Christmas tree in the background, but this was four and a half years ago. Needless to say, I didn’t investigate further and dismissed both the article and the website they were endorsing as a hoax.
What Are the Additional Red Flags of a Scammer?
On the second occasion I encountered one of these articles, additional investigation was needed. Anyone can carry out the steps I took and require no technical knowledge or additional hardware or software. For the sake of a few extra minutes, these steps should be carried out before making any transaction that could result in you being parted from a significant amount of money or your personal data:
1. Check the URL
The URL is the address you see in the address bar at the top of your browser. It is crucial to pay attention to this. The most important part is the space between the first double slash and the first single slash.
If this references a well-known product but isn’t the official website, that should ring alarm bells. For example, a domain like ‘iphonedeals.net’ clearly is not the official Apple website. Websites that end in .net or .org aren’t usually used for online shopping, but .com or .co.uk are much more common.
2. Check the details
When you shop online or share your personal details, make sure you are using an https:// or secure server internet connection. This ensures that other web users can’t spy on your personal details, such as your banking or credit card information.
If you visit a website that asks you for personal information or login details without taking you to a https:// connection, leave immediately.
When you visit a secure connection online, you should see a padlock symbol next to the URL to indicate you are logged on to a secure connection. This indicates that the site is secure and cannot be intercepted.
Alternatively, if the address bar goes green and you see the words ‘Verified Company [US],’ this also indicates that the site is secure. A warning symbol in the address bar with the words ‘Not Secure’ means there’s an issue with the security, and the site should not be used.
Note: Scammers are increasingly using SSL certificates, so while the website is secure, there is no guarantee that you will visit a reliable website. Therefore, use this step along with the others listed before deciding.
3. Look closely at the content
Have a good look around the website, paying attention to how it’s written. Are there:
- Grammatical errors?
- Spelling mistakes?
- Broken English?
If it doesn’t read well, it’s highly likely to be a scam website. No reputable website would ever go live without being properly checked.
4. Browse the website
Keep an eye out for pixelated images or graphics and out-of-date logos or branding. These could indicate that scammers are attempting to imitate a legitimate brand or lack the resources to create a professional website.
You should also check that the website lists contact information. Legitimate companies will always list how to contact them; if the website doesn’t have a ‘Contact us’ page, it could be fraudulent.
If the site does have a ‘Contact us’ page but only offers a form to fill out, be wary, as this could also indicate a dubious website.
Look for a Privacy Statement – If the website collects personal information, you should check that it has a privacy notice. This sets out how the company protects your privacy as needed by law and explains in detail:
- What personal information do they have, and how do they get it
- How they can and can’t use your data
- Who they can share your data with
5. Find out who owns the web domain
All domains must register their web address or URL, so check who has registered the website’s URL or web domain.
It’s free to look this up, and knowing the name of the company or individual responsible for the domain will help you identify if a site is a genuine business.
You can use a website checker such as godaddy.com/en-uk/offers/whois to find the website owner, along with sites such as scamadviser.com or getsafeonline.org/checkawebsite, which provide comprehensive risk information and a very detailed report on how the scoring was arrived at.
6. Check for reviews
Many popular review websites also share user experiences about the quality of customer service and products and warn against scams. These include:
- Feefo
- Trustpilot
- TripAdvisor
You should be able to work out quite quickly whether other people have had good or bad experiences with the site you’re looking at. Watch out for fake reviews, too – if they all look new or similar, they might not be genuine. Also, be wary if there aren’t many reviews available.
7. Listen to your gut
It’s not always easy to identify a false celebrity-endorsement as website scams become increasingly sophisticated. If you’re still unsure whether a site is legitimate or if the article featuring the celebrity plugging the website actually happened, it’s best to be extra cautious. If you’re trying to visit a specific website, type the URL into your web browser directly rather than following links. And if you have any doubts, listen to your gut and don’t enter any personal or financial information into the website.
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