13 August 2019
The old saying goes: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Australians have been scammed out of more than $78 million dollars so far this year, based on data reported to them by scam victims.
Of that figure, $37 million dollars was lost to investment scams, with a staggering $12.8 million of those losses occurring in July alone.
The ACCC has issued a projection that Australians will lose over $532 million this year to scam activity, taking into account data from the ACCC and other government agencies. This will take the figure over the half a billion mark for the first time.
The ACCC has as few ‘tell tale signs’ when it comes to spotting a scam:
Communication is key
Scammers love to cold call. If you receive an unsolicited communication (phone call, email, text message) from someone you’ve never heard of before, offering you a (sometimes very legitimate sounding) deal, take that as a huge warning sign.
The fact that you have never had any dealings with them previously, yet they have managed to obtain your contact details should raise immediate concerns.
Scammers can also target you through website and social media advertisements, so think twice before clicking on links.
Types of offers presented by scammers can include shares, real estate, options trading or foreign currency trading.
Scammers are good at looking good
It’s not uncommon for scammers to employ a range of professional and legitimate looking assets, including flyers, advertisements, prospectus documents, websites and social media profiles.
A professional looking website can go a long way to making an offer seem legitimate. Don’t be fooled by the bells and whistles. Likewise with social media profiles – fake reviews and purchased page likes can easily create a false illusion of legitimacy.
Protect yourself
The first thing you should do before considering any kind of investment activity is confirm the organisation has a current Australian Financial Services license, you can do this through the ASIC website. You should also check ASIC’s list of Companies you should not deal with.
Anything that claims to be risk free, promises high returns or offers a simple way to unlock your superannuation should be treated with an extremely high degree of suspicion and caution.
Make sure you don’t give any personal information to the scammer. Delete the email or hang up the phone call.
Don’t commit before seeking independent professional legal or financial advice.
Don’t commit under pressure. If the offer must be acted upon immediately and they try to convince you that you do not have time to seek independent advice, your suspicions should be raised.
If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam, you can report it to the ACCC.
You should inform your financial institutions if you have given your bank details to scammers.
More information on how to protect yourself from scams can be found on the ACCC website.
Always talk to a professional
Seeking advice from an Australian licenced professional financial advisor is the best way to safeguard you from investment scams.
Contact the team at Shakespeare Financial Services on 08 9321 2111 if you’d like to discuss how this information may apply to your current circumstances.
General disclaimer:
Our firm provides the information on this website for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation.
Tax articles on this website are not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided “as is,” with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose .
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