Chloe Ferry is among a group of reality stars being rapped for posting ads that targeted young people with debt.
The Geordie Shore star, TOWIE's Myles Barnett and Ex on the Beach star Helen Briggs were all paid to post adverts on their Instagram accounts - with millions of followers between them - that offered a way for people to cut their debt down by as much as 85%.
However, the ads have now been banned by a watchdog who say they were misleading and not clearly labelled as paid-for adverts.
The three stars were paid by company Ashteck Media, which trades as Debt Slayers, to post the ads on their Instagram accounts in December and January.
Myles posted his ad as a video on his Instagram story, which led people straight to the company's website with a 'swipe up' link.
He said in the video: "One of my friends just got 81% of his debt wiped off. So if you've got debt above £5,000, you know it could be credit cards, catalogues, old car finance, loans, anything like that, swipe up and there's more information on there, and yeah good luck.
"I know it’s weird times at the moment and everyone’s finances have taken a hit. So swipe up, and you can wipe off a big, big chunk of your debt."
Chloe told her millions of followers in her post: "This is a new fully regulated scheme that can help you write off 85% of the debt."
And Helen posted a link to the Debt Slayers website through 'swipe up' posts on her story.
Three complainants questioned whether the ads made clear the risks associated with an IVA, which could actually have long-term implications for the individual.
Company Ashteck Media Ltd is listed on Companies House, describing its nature of business as "Information technology consultancy activities".
Three complaints about the debt ads were upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), who said: "We understood that Debt Slayers had dictated the contents of the posts and that the influencers had been remunerated for making the posts."
They added: "However, there was nothing in the posts, such as '#ad' displayed clearly, that made clear to consumers they were ads."
The watchdog banned the ads from appearing in that form again in the future.
The ASA said: "The ads must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Ashteck Media Ltd t/a Debt Slayers to ensure their ads did not exaggerate the speed or ease with which debts could be reduced; that they made risks and fees of IVAs and other debt management services clear; and that they made clear that they passed on enquirers’ details to third parties and did not provide the service themselves.
"We also told Ashteck Media Ltd, Helen Briggs, Myles Barnett, and Chloe Ferry to ensure that ads were obviously identifiable as marketing communications in future; for example, by including a clear identifier such as '#ad'."
The Mirror has contacted Chloe, Helen and Myles' representatives for comment.
