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  "path": "/2026/06/08/son-keeps-investing-student-loan-based-advice-tiktok-finance-bros-28658426/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-08T05:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Lifestyle",
    "Money",
    "Investing",
    "Parenting",
    "Saving",
    "student",
    "The Money Problem",
    "social media",
    "TikTok",
    "Instagram",
    "YouTube",
    "Leeds",
    "savings",
    "videos of influencers in sports cars promising “guaranteed returns”",
    "Add us as a Preferred Source",
    "Geordie Shore",
    "investing involves probabilities",
    "My cheating husband earns £450,000 – how do I stiff him in the divorce?",
    "I’m a landlord — should I evict my single mother tenant or put her rent up 20%?",
    "My parents inherited £800,000 from my gran and refuse to share it with me",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "This week we hear from a worried father (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nThe growth of investing advice featured on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube has been explosive in recent years.\n\nWhile there are excellent commentators out there, regulators around the world are increasingly wringing their hands in dismay as more and more youngsters pile into high risk options, only to lose the lot.\n\nThis week’s money problem comes from David, whose son is hooked on getting rich quick schemes he’s found on TikTok.\n\nMetro’s consumer champion Sarah Davidson takes a look.\n\n## The problem…\n\nDavid, 51, from Leeds, writes: ‘My 19-year-old son is at university and has started investing his student loan and part-time job savings.\n\n‘I was initially pleased he was taking an interest in his finances, but I have since realised he is getting all his advice from TikTok.\n\n‘He is buying obscure crypto coins and trying out highly leveraged trading strategies that he clearly doesn’t understand.\n\nWhat would you do? (Picture: Getty Images)\n\n‘When I try to warn him, he shows me videos of influencers in sports cars promising “guaranteed returns” and telling him he will be a millionaire by 25 if he follows their tips.\n\n‘He thinks I am just being a cautious boomer who doesn’t understand modern wealth creation. I think he is being brainwashed by charlatans.\n\n‘Is anyone actually regulating this space, and how can I prove to him that these videos are dangerous?’\n\n## The answer…\n\nWatching anyone you love take big financial risks based on what is almost certainly just a slick, algorithmic format designed specifically to bypass critical thinking is bound to induce nausea.\n\nYour son is far from alone in being mesmerised though.\n\nFor Generation Z, TikTok has become the primary search engine for financial education. The hashtag #FinTok has billions of views.\n\nThe problem, as you have correctly identified, is that the algorithm rewards confidence, brevity and emotional hooks, not accuracy, balance or risk warnings.\n\n##  Don't miss our Money tips! Add us as a Preferred Source\n\nAt Metro Money, we're here to bring you all the latest news and advice on personal finance, cost of living, saving and investing. As part of our vibrant community of highly engaged readers, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories.\n\nClick the button below and tick ** _Metro.co.uk_** to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.\n\nAdd us as a Preferred Source\n\nOur Money experts are here to give you the latest tips and insider guides\n\nThe good news is that regulators are finally waking up to the scale of the problem. The bad news is that the content itself is getting worse, not better.\n\nIn April 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority spearheaded a global week of action alongside 16 other international regulators to crack down on illegal financial promotions.\n\nIn the UK alone, the FCA made 120 account takedown requests to social media platforms, identifying over 1,200 illegal financial adverts that had reached at least 2.3 million UK accounts.\n\nThe hashtag #FinTok has billions of views. (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nTellingly, 66% of those adverts came from individuals or firms already on the FCA’s Warning List.\n\nThe regulator has also started baring its teeth legally, securing a guilty plea from Geordie Shore’s Aaron Chalmers for illegal promotions on social media and commencing criminal proceedings against others.\n\nThe European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued similar warnings.\n\nThe unfortunate reality is that you cannot force your son to stop watching TikTok and telling him he is being brainwashed will only make him defensive.\n\nInstead, try to shift the conversation from the specific investments to the mechanics of the platform.\n\nAsk him to consider the incentives of the person making the video.\n\nIf someone genuinely possessed a guaranteed, risk-free strategy to become a millionaire through obscure crypto coins, why would they be selling that secret for likes and affiliate links on TikTok?\n\nPoint him towards a recent study by DayTrading.com, which graded the most viral finance TikToks in September 2025 and again in April 2026.\n\nThe findings are stark. In 2026, 80% of the viral finance videos analysed received an overall grade of C or below for their accuracy, disclosures and educational value.\n\nNot a single video scored top marks for factual accuracy.\n\nRemind him that real investing involves probabilities, not guarantees and that anyone promising certainty in financial markets is either lying or selling something.\n\nIf a finfluencer is recommending a specific platform or product, encourage your son to use the FCA Firm Checker.\n\nIf they’re not on there, he has no protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if things go wrong.\n\nSocial media has democratised access to financial information, which is a positive step.\n\nBut it has also democratised access to what can only be described as con artists peddling dangerous rubbish as “advice”.\n\nYour son needs to learn to distinguish between the two before it costs him his savings.\n\n##  More Metro Money Problems\n\nMy cheating husband earns £450,000 – how do I stiff him in the divorce?\n\nI’m a landlord — should I evict my single mother tenant or put her rent up 20%?\n\nMy parents inherited £800,000 from my gran and refuse to share it with me\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "My son keeps ‘investing’ his student loan based on advice from TikTok finance bros"
}