The National Anti-Scam Centre will be coordinating an investment scam fusion cell in order to address the growing problem of investment-related scams, which are now costing Australian consumers well over $1 billion a year.
The fusion cell will reportedly be led by the ACCC and ASIC and include key representatives from the banking institutions, telecommunications sector and all-digital platforms.
It will notably be the first fusion cell coordinated by the National Anti-Scam Centre and will aim to identify methods for tackling investment scams to minimize the negative impact of scam losses.
Fusion cells are time-limited taskforces meant to bring together industry expertise from government and the private sector in order to take swift action to deal with specific, urgent issues
The National Anti-Scam Centre will reportedly coordinate a series of fusion cells with various participants to target particular scam types.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe stated:
“Investment scams lead to the highest level of reported individual losses and cause emotional devastation for victims. That is why the National Anti-Scam Centre is prioritising investment scam disruption as its first fusion cell in an initiative that facilitates timely action by finance, telecommunications and digital platforms to stop scammers.”
Ms Lowe noted:
“This additional level of co-ordination and focus across government and relevant industries will target investment scam activity more effectively and help prevent further losses to these scams.”
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court has welcomed the announcement of the fusion cell and stated that ASIC looked forward to sharing its industry expertise in investment scams with the National Anti-Scam Centre.
Ms Court added:
“ASIC and the ACCC working together as part of the National Anti-Scam Centre’s first fusion cell is an important step towards protecting Australians from harmful investment scams.”
She also mentioned:
“A collaborative approach that sees regulators working with each other, as well as with the private sector, is crucial to addressing this challenge.”
The investment scam fusion cell should be established initially for 6 months, with the National Anti-Scam Centre reporting outcomes.
The fusion cell will aim for the following:
- Early intervention to disrupt investment scams including stopping scammers from reaching potential victims
- Removing investment scam websites from the internet
- Sharing information about investment scam activity to assist the private sector to take disruption action
- Providing information to the public so they can avoid investment scams
- Identifying intelligence to refer to law enforcement in Australia and overseas
As noted in the update, we should be suspicious of anyone “offering you easy money. Investment scams often involve promises of big payouts for little or no risk, quick money, or guaranteed returns.”
However, there’s always a catch.
For additional information regarding lowering the risk of investment scams, you can visit the official ASIC’s Moneysmart website.
Before making an investment, Australian investors are able to make these simple practical checks to help with lowering the risk of investment scams:
- check ASIC’s Offer Notice Board to see if a prospectus relates to a recent offer registered;
- check ASIC’s register of Australian financial services licensees to make sure any party promoting or issuing the financial product is licensed or is authorised by a licensee;
- check the International Organization of Securities Commission’s (IOSCO) investor alerts – make sure the company or website is not named
Australians, regardless of whether they have lost money, are “encouraged to report scams to Scamwatch.” Reports can be “made anonymously.”
The National Anti-Scam Centre officially launched on 1 July 2023.
The centre will aim to “build capability and data sharing technology over the next three years.”
The technology build will ultimately enable the Centre to:
- Receive a report of a scam from any institution (private or government) and centralise this intelligence
- Distribute data to those who need it most – such as banks to freeze an account, telcos to block a call, digital platforms to take down a website or account.
- Analyse and act on the trends sourced from this data to disrupt scams and educate Australians.