‘It‘s slick, it’s sophisticated and it is very, very hard to detect’, writes Kathy Sundstrom.

This is not your typical celebrity scam, it's slick, it's sophisticated and it is very, very hard to detect, writes Kathy Sundstrom.

This is not your typical celebrity scam, it‘s slick, it’s sophisticated and it is very, very hard to detect, writes Kathy Sundstrom.

*Kevin was searching the internet for new investment opportunities that would provide good returns and came across a site that compared investment companies and he filled in some basic details.

Within a few days the accountant was contacted by a "representative" of a well-established investment company with a strong Australian profile.

They sent him a glossy prospectus from an email address that, superficially, looked like it belonged to the organisation.

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Kevin invested $350,000, but a few days later he received a phone call from his bank's fraud squad as, thankfully, one of the accounts he had sent the funds to was picked up as being suspicious.

The bank was able to stop the transfer of $200,000. Kevin doesn't know about the other $150,000 yet.

What makes Kevin's story so interesting is that he was one of about a dozen people who contacted IDCARE in a week after losing large amounts through this kind of scam and then also found their identity had been compromised.

I spoke to another young woman who invested $150,000 with another high-profile investment firm in a very similar scenario.

Then there was the retired engineer who didn't lose any money, but has had his identity compromised.

"I thought I'm pretty smart, I'm very well educated, I've been holding very responsible positions - it's worth telling people like me you think you're smart, but it can happen to smart people," he told me.

The email he received from the scammer used the name of an "employee" which has a LinkedIn profile associated with the legitimate organisation.

It seems scammers have adapted their approach to make them so much harder to detect.

This is not your typical "celebrity" investment scam we've seen in the past where the respected face of someone like Dick Smith is being used to promote interest in fake cryptocurrency sites.

This scam is slick, it's sophisticated and it is very, very hard to detect.

"They are polished. I have always been very careful, but the material they provide to you and the questions you ask them and the reply they give looks very logical," the accountant said.

And when the scammers are using the branding, the ASIC disclaimers, the addresses and even the names of staff apparently employed in the legitimate organisation, it is so much trickier to spot.

In hindsight, all those who were scammed noted the email address the "prospectus" had been sent from should have raised a red flag. Instead of being com.au it was -au.com

It's also a reminder to research, research, research before you sign anything and part with your cash.

*Kevin is not his real name.

Kathy Sundstrom is a former Sunshine Coast Daily journalist who now works at identity and cyber support service IDCARE.

Originally published as The accountant, the engineer, the young couple and the slick investment scam

Originally published as ‘It‘s slick, it’s sophisticated and it is very, very hard to detect’, writes Kathy Sundstrom.