By John Collett
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has made headway in its efforts to stem the seemingly never-ending tide of scammers, taking down more than 7300 phishing and investment scam websites in the past year.
The amount of money lost to scams is also falling. It was at $2.74 billion in 2023, down from $3.1 billion in 2022. The regulator attributes this, in part, to its taking down of dodgy websites since last year.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says the regulator is disrupting scammers by taking down dodgy websites.Credit: PENNY STEPHENS
More than 5500 of the website take-downs were investment scams and more than 1000 were “phishing” scams. Cryptocurrency investment scams accounted for more than 600 of the shutdowns.
Phishing is where criminals trick you into handing over personal information. They often send emails or text messages pretending to be from large organisations you know and trust.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says the technological landscape around scams is rapidly evolving. “Innovative technology developments may improve how we live and work, however, it is also providing new opportunities for scammers to exploit,” Court says.
“Every day an average of 20 investment scam websites are taken down [by ASIC]; the quick removal of malicious websites is an important step to stop criminals from causing further harm to Australians.”
Cryptocurrency scams accounted for around 600 of the closed websites.Credit: Michael Howard
ASIC refers suspicious websites to a third-party company specialising in cybercrime detection and disruption. Many of these websites are operated by criminal syndicates offshore, in countries where Australian law enforcement cannot reach.
Websites taken down include those run by people not licensed or authorised to offer investments or other financial services in Australia and ‘impostor’ style scams, run by those who impersonate or falsely claim to be associated with a legitimate business.
However, scammers continue to find new ways through new technology to lure Australians into their traps, Court says.
“Anyone can fall victim to these scams ... the level of sophistication of scams, the use of artificial intelligence, deep fakes and alike, just makes it very difficult to tell whether... something is fake or not,” she says.
Most of these scams pop up in social media feeds and are designed to get your attention, she says.
ASIC’s take-downs of websites, the recently established National Anti-Scam Centre and other initiatives of the Albanese government are likely driving the fall in the total amount of money lost to scams, however, the number of people affected by losses continues to rise.
Investment scams remain the leading type of scam impacting Australians, resulting in $1.3 billion in losses in 2023.
Some of the sites taken down by ASIC can be viewed here.
ASIC’s Moneysmart site shows if a company or person is licensed or authorised to offer investments. The regulator’s tips for avoiding scams include not providing personal information or acting on investment advice you have seen on social media.
Consumers need to be hyper-vigilant as scammers can create fake news and reviews to make an investment seem legitimate.
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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