Aussie Regulator Ramps Up Fight Against Scammers: Blocking 130 Websites Each Week

The Australian financial market watchdog is shutting down investment scams at an average rate of 130 fraudulent websites each week. According to the latest official data, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has removed a total of 10,240 investment scam websites.

The blocked websites include 7,227 fake investment platform scams, 1,564 phishing scam hyperlinks, and 1,257 cryptocurrency investment scams.

An Increase in Investigations

Furthermore, the Aussie regulator increased the number of new investigations by 31 per cent to 109, commenced 15 new court actions, and completed 376 surveillance operations in the last six months. The agency also managed to secure AUD 46 million in civil penalties and 13 criminal convictions.

ASIC, which oversees the retail financial sector in the country, implemented a “scam website takedown capability” in 2023, under which it removes suspicious websites. It focuses on three types of websites: fake investment platforms, crypto-asset scam websites, and imposter scam websites, all of which are very difficult to detect unless victims come forward.

“Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated technology to steal money from hard-working Australians with investment scams that can look shockingly legitimate,” said ASIC’s Deputy Chair, Sarah Court.

“ASIC will continue to protect Australians from scams by removing them before they reach consumers and holding financial institutions accountable for their scam detection and response practices.”

Victims Are Bearing Massive Losses

According to data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Aussies lost AU$2.74 billion to financial fraud and scams. Although the figure was staggering, it decreased by 13.1 per cent in a year.

However, financial scams are not confined to Australia; they are a global issue. Malaysian authorities recently revealed that forex broker TrumphFX siphoned about US$5.3 million from 72 victims in the country.

Similar to ASIC, financial regulators in other countries are also taking action against shady financial services platforms, but most of their authority is limited to issuing warnings. The regulator in Italy is another among the few that are blocking access to these platforms within their jurisdictions.

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