Social media giant Facebook has launched a new service in the UK that allows users to report scam adverts on the platform.

The company has also added a specialist team, unique to the UK, to investigate alerts raised by users, review reports, analyse trends of fake ads and take down any that are misleading.

As of this week, Facebook users across the UK have the additional option when reporting a dodgy advert to “send a detailed scam report”.

These misleading ads often feature celebrities and fake endorsements that trick people into buying fallacious products or services. Common fake products include diet pills and teas, while many ads try to trick buyers to enter into a pyramid scheme or bitcoin trading scam.

Facebook’s latest effort to tackle online scams follows legal action taken by Martin Lewis the founder of MoneySavingExpert and a consumer champion. Lewis took legal action against the company after a slew of fake ads using his brand and image spread across the site – it is estimated Facebook allowed over 50 of these fake ads to run on its site.

In his libel suit, Lewis claimed that Facebook was slow to respond despite being made aware of the situation and that many of those who trusted his brand had mistakenly handed over thousands of pound only to discover the ad had nothing to do with him.

Facebook offered to donate £3 million to set up an anti-scam programme if Lewis agreed to drop the suit, which he did. The funds were given to the Citizens Advice, a network of over 360 charities that span the UK, to develop a service specifically for people who have been victims of online con-artists.

Citizens Advice offers free and confidential advice to people with money, legal, consumer and other problems.

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With the funds Citizens Advice created Scams Action, a dedicated online service for helping victims of online trickery. Scams Action now has a telephone helpline to offer advice to those who have been defrauded, in addition, face to face consultations will be available to serious cases, for example, when someone finds themselves in debt or in mortgage arrears.

Describing the rapid growth of online scams as an epidemic, Lewis said “there’s little effective law or regulation to prevent them, and official enforcement is poor to non-existent, as these criminals are usually based outside of the EU.

“That’s why I sued for defamation, bizarrely the only law I could find to try to make big tech firms understand the damage their negligent behaviour has caused. “Today should be the start of real improvement. The aim is to tap the power of what I’m dubbing ‘social policing’ to fight these scams.

“Millions of people know a scam when they see it, and millions of others don’t. “So now, I’d ask all who recognise them to use the new Facebook reporting tool, to help protect those who don’t – which includes many who are vulnerable. Facebook’s new dedicated team will then hopefully respond quickly to ditch the scammers.”

Citizens Advice estimates it will help 20,000 people within its first year of operation and would also work to help identify and raise awareness of online scams. Gillian Guy, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said “We’re pleased the agreement between Martin Lewis and Facebook meant we could set up this dedicated service to give more help to people who have fallen victim to online scams”.

The vice-president for northern Europe at Facebook, Steve Hatch, said there was “no place on Facebook” for scam adverts. “Through our work with Martin Lewis, we’re taking a market-leading position and our new reporting tool and dedicated team are important steps to stop the misuse of our platform,” he said.

“Prevention is also key. Our £3m donation to Citizens Advice will not only help those who have been impacted by scammers, but raise awareness of how to avoid scams too. At a global level, we’ve tripled the size of our safety and security team to 30,000 people and continue to invest heavily in removing bad content from our platform.”