‘Devastated’: Aussie loses $160k in scam
Australian workers have been caught up in a chilling scam with a lot of money lost. Warning: Distressing
An Australian FIFO worker has revealed he lost a whopping $160,000 in a scam he says targeted people in the mining industry.
Danny* said the scammer rang and messaged him up to 10 times a day as a “sales tactic” and over a period of 14 months he lost his entire live savings.
He had gone through a divorce five years earlier, which had wiped out his financial plans, and left him “vulnerable”, he said.
“I was looking for that little road out of the industry and to make that little extra money,” he told news.com.au.
“I put up my first $5000 to open up an account in 2022 and then they were dragging everyone in. They targeted all the fly in, fly out guys as they had extra money.”
The scam was called Validus and there were claims money was being invested in gold and silver, with a promised 3 per cent return per day, after investing for 12 months.
Danny said he knows at least six other people just within his own circle who have been scammed, while he has heard of others losing up to $300,000.
He said his divorce had left him suicidal and he was looking at a way to rebuild his life.
“In 14 months I put $160,000 in and was told it will be worth $800,000 and I thought I can take it out and never have to work again,” he said.
“I wasn’t a well person. I was trying to get out of work and start my life again.”
Danny said he questioned the scammer, who was based in Queensland, on where the money was being invested and was told in gold and silver – except it was being funnelled into cryptocurrency accounts.
“People that are vulnerable to get out of an industry and want to get quick money – this guy preyed on people like that, he was sending messages all the time,” he added.
The 61-year-old said when the scam “fell over” he called the scammer who tried to put the blame on him.
“He said ‘I gave you the information, you’re the one who took the risk’. There was no sorry,” he noted.
“I said ‘You are an a**hole going around sucking people for your own benefits’.”
Have you been a victim of scam? Contact sarah.sharples@news.com.au
The loss of $160,000 has been massive and another relationship breakdown left him depressed and suicidal, he added.
“I have to live with it. I have kind of shut it out a lot now and I’ve gone I can’t do nothing about it, but I’m hopeful I could get the money back,” he said.
“It’s made my life go backwards and I've had to go back into the workforce. If I had just $160,000 in the bank I could be making $1000 back a month just in the bank and with what else I’ve got, I would have been all right.”
Shockingly, there could be up to 200 Australians who were caught up in the worldwide scam – not just FIFO workers – with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issuing a warning in 2022.
“It would have been – talking worldwide – it would be billions lost,” Danny estimated.
Friends had warned him that it sounded like a scam, while his bank had also blocked two of his transfers. But chillingly the scammers coached people on how to get around the bank’s queries, he said.
“It’s my fault. I was like everyone is at the moment, trying to get that next quick rich scheme that allows you to not do anything and retire,” he said.
“These people that are doing this are causing people to be suicidal and they don’t care.”
Danny added he was “devastated” that he had personally introduced friends to the scam and wants to pay them back.
Meanwhile, the scammers have continued to make outrageous claims to their victims including that they were engaged in recovering $140 million from different parties via court cases and other avenues.
The scam Danny was caught up in had been the subject of an ASIC warning in November 2022, where it advised people not to deal with or transfer money to Validus. Yet, Aussies still fell victim to the scam.
The Validus president also provided an update to people last week claiming the company had faced “considerable challenges” over the past seven months after it was forced to cease operations due to “severe financial difficulties” after the FDA took action.
He claimed the company was “actively and aggressively” pursuing several third party companies to recover funds owed and he remained “confident” they would be resolved.
“It is important to note that while we are committed to using the recovered funds to net zero balances for our network, this statement should not be construed as a guarantee or legal obligation,” he said.
Danny said aside from Validus there were other scams at the time including two called Vbqer and The 1000 Club, while there were already new scams being launched by the same people.
Since ASIC published its warning in 2022, the corporate regulator said it had received a limited number of complaints – fewer than 10 from Australians.
“After considering the most recent complaint made to us in late 2023, we did not identify any current offerings or promotions in Australia,” they added.
However, ASIC encourages anyone who has invested in Validus to share information with them, the spokesperson said.
“ASIC will consider any new information we receive,” they added.
“ASIC encourages investors to visit the Investor Alert list on ASIC’s Moneysmart website before making investments, to find out if an investment may be unlicensed or fraudulent. Investors can also check ASIC’s professional registers to confirm whether an entity offering an investment holds an Australian financial services license or is an authorised representative of an AFS licensee.
“Investors should not invest their money with unlicensed or unauthorised entities, as they will miss out on important consumer protections including access to free dispute resolution services.”
Even after the downfall of Validus, news.com.au has been leaked a video from September showing the company announcing they had a “second chance” and are selling a new product, which would “allow people to make good money”.
There were a “a lot of opportunities” for people from the network, the company claimed.
*Name has been changed
sarah.sharples@news.com.au
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