‘Shockingly legitimate’: Scammers up their game to steal your hard earned

Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated but the corporate watchdog is fighting back, taking down more than 130 scam websites a day.

ASIC say they shut down the fake Dewolf Investment scam offering large returns to members. Picture: supplied

Australians are being inundated with investment scams that look like real products, the corporate watchdog has warned.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it’s making headway in its efforts to stem the endless tide of scammers, pulling more than 10,240 websites down in just two years.

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says since ASIC established its capability in 2023, the agency was helping shut down an average of 130 investment scam websites each week.

“Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated technology to steal money from hardworking Australians with investment scams that can look shockingly legitimate,” she said.

The most common of these scams were fake investment platforms – 7000 plus of the scams knocked out by ASIC were fake investment platforms, while there were 1500 phishing links and 1200 crypto scams removed.

ASIC has shared examples of the investment scams taken down by its take-down service. One scam, Abex Markets, featured a convincing fake investment platform claiming to allow investors to invest in NFTs and Forex.

ASIC says they are shutting hundreds of these examples down a week. Picture: Supplied

ASIC says they are shutting hundreds of these examples down a week. Picture: Supplied

Another, Dewolf Capital, offered a range of crypto trading products and investors eye-watering returns of between 250 to 500 per cent if they joined the platform.

ASIC say they shut down the fake Dewolf Investment scam offering large returns to members. Picture: supplied

ASIC say they shut down the fake Dewolf Investment scam offering large returns to members. Picture: supplied

The corporate watchdog also highlights that in the last six months of 2024, ASIC increased its new investigations by 31 per cent to 109 new investigations, started 15 new court actions, and completed 376 surveillances.

The update also reports ASIC was successful in the majority of its civil and criminal prosecutions, securing $46.6m in civil penalties and 13 criminal convictions.

How to spot a scam

The ASIC backed Scamwatch says spotting these scams can be difficult as criminals will set up fake email accounts and websites to appear as legitimate brokers.

They will even come up in internet searches for investment opportunities.

But there are steps Aussies should take to avoid being a victim of a scam.

• Don’t trust surprise offers to invest.

• Don’t take investment advice from people you have met on social media.

• Check the ASIC website to confirm if the person offering the investment is licensed.

• Check the Moneysmart investor alert list for companies and websites you should not trust.

• Check if the business details match the company’s real website.

“ASIC will continue to protect Australians from scams by removing them before they reach consumers and holding financial institutions accountable for their scam detection and response practices,” Ms Court said.

Originally published as ‘Shockingly legitimate’: Scammers up their game to steal your hard earned