scammed

In 2020 Australians reported over 7,000 investment scams to Scamwatch, well up on the 5,000 reported in 2019. Scamwatch recorded investment scam losses of $65.8 million, but add in notifications made to other government agencies and the major banks and reported losses across 2020 soared to $328 million. Due to embarrassment many losses go unreported so we may never know the full extent of the damage. So the need to protect yourself from being scammed should be on your priority.…

We’ve all seen media reports about ordinary Australians losing their entire savings after responding to a phone, email or mail offer that was impossible to resist. While some people may be naïve, scammers targeting Australia are also getting smarter.  Financial stings have become a serious threat to Australian consumers and businesses. According to the ACCC’s Scamwatch website, there were 161,582 reports of scam in 2017, for a total loss of more than $90 million! All shapes and sizes Identity theft…

If you are aged over 50, male, highly educated, financially literate and manage your own super, beware. You’re at a higher risk of being the target (and victim) of an organised financial scam, mainly around investment fraud. This isn’t necessarily because your demographic is particularly gullible. Rather, it’s because you’re more likely to control higher levels of wealth, perhaps as the trustee of a self-managed super fund (SMSF); you’re accustomed to making financial decisions; and you’re actively looking for attractive…

Since the earliest days of commerce there have always been people prepared to commit fraud against others. With easy access to millions of people via the internet, modern fraud has increased the opportunities for the bad guys and heightened the risk for the innocent. So we need to protect ourselves against online scams. Financial scams We are all interested in making a better return on our investments but who can we really trust? The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC),…