Boiler room scam networks active in southeast Queensland as expats are used to dupe countrymen

AUSSIES tapped to target their own countrymen in Nigerian-style scam networks, now flourishing in South-East Asia and even on the Gold Coast.

Expats used in cold call scams

AUSTRALIAN expats and backpackers throughout Asia are being used to dupe their countrymen into caller scams.

Police have warned the so-called "boiler room" scam networks have moved on from Nigeria and are active in Asia and on the Gold Coast.

The Australian Crime Commission said one scam in Bangkok was linked to the theft of more than $50 million from Australians.

The ACC said that in the Bangkok raid in April, Thai police found nine expats with phones, scripts and lists of Australians.

The scams use carefully crafted scripts to dupe Australians into investing.

ACC acting executive director Warren Gray said: "Any of the South-East Asian countries and China seem to be favoured for it.

"We're finding expats man the boiler rooms so that the language difficulty isn't too bad and they are believable stories.''

Have you been a victim of a cold call scam? Tell us below

"Basically they're sitting in these boiler rooms, they've got scripts, which they read to their victims.

"We've had our forensic psychologists look at these and they're saying they're very effective on the vulnerable.''

The Bangkok boiler room was part of a network that also operated from Jakarta and Taiwan, promoting a range of fraudulent investments.

Thai police will travel to Australia to interview victims, with the main player still at large and believed to pull the strings from China.

Superintendent Brian Hay, head of Queensland's fraud squad, said other networks operated closer to home.

"The southeast corner of Queensland seems to have developed a hub for boiler room operations,'' Supt Hay said.

"They're sophisticated in their product development and they're highly flexible and mobile, which means that the trail is always cold by the time law enforcement are alerted to the problem.''

The scams often involved low values but high volumes and victims did not always contact police.

"They will work out a script, hire some telemarketers, put them in a room with a heap of phones and here's the script,'' Supt Hay said.

"They'll rip the money out as soon as the money goes into the account.

"They provide fake websites and interactive websites where you can see how your account is going.

"Unfortunately all of this is contrived and, while you think you've got a wonderful growing balance, the money has already been taken out.''

Australian Securities and Investments Commission senior executive leader Warren Day said there was a new wave of boiler room scams last year.

"Predominantly these things are running out of South-East Asia, so Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia,'' Mr Day said.

"The perpetrators and the people organising them are from places like Canada, the UK, the US and some European countries.''

The ACC said last year 2600 Australians had lost at least $113 million from cold call scams in five years.

###