Fake Ed Sheeran endorsements are being used by fraudsters to con unsuspecting victims out of money in an online scam, it has been warned.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said the Shape Of You singer, who grew up and lives near Framlingham, is one of the celebrity names being used by scammers to hoodwink members of the public into bogus investment schemes.

In the scam, mocked-up news articles featuring so-called endorsements from celebrities including Ed are used to promote get-rich-quick schemes.

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Even though they appear legitimate because they use the branding of news websites, the NCSC said they are fake.

It said it had taken down more 300,000 malicious links tied to fraudulent schemes in the past four months through its Active Cyber Defence programme.

NCSC chief executive Ciaran Martin said: “These investment scams are a striking example of the kind of methods cybercriminals are now deploying to try to con people.

“We are exposing them today not only to raise public awareness but to show the criminals behind them that we know what they’re up to and are taking action to stop it.

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“I would urge the public to continue doing what they have been so brilliantly and forward anything they think doesn’t look right to our suspicious email reporting service.”

The NCSC has encouraged the public to report anything which “doesn’t look right”.

An email reporting service launched earlier this year has so far received more than 1.8million reports, which has resulted in over 16,800 malicious sites being blocked or taken down.

The public can forward suspected scam emails and other content to report@phishing.gov.uk

Other celebrities used in the scam include businessman Sir Richard Branson and consumer expert Martin Lewis.