Investment and crypto scams

Investment scams take more money from Australians than any other scam type. The modern version looks professional: a slick trading platform showing your balance growing, a “dedicated account manager” who calls you, even celebrity endorsements (deepfaked). The platform is a stage set — the numbers on screen are whatever the criminals type in.

The pattern to recognise

• Found via social media ads, WhatsApp/Telegram groups, or a new online friend (“pig-butchering”).
• Small first deposit “works” — you may even withdraw once, to build trust.
• Pressure to invest more; “taxes” or “fees” demanded to release your (fake) profits.
• The platform vanishes, or support stops replying, when you try to withdraw for real.

• Check ASIC’s investor alert list and confirm any adviser holds an Australian Financial Services licence — via Moneysmart’s registers
• Be certain any celebrity endorsement is real (they almost never are — check the celebrity’s official channels)
• Treat “guaranteed” or “risk-free” returns as a confession of fraud
• Never install trading or remote-access apps at a stranger’s suggestion
• Take 48 hours before any investment decision — urgency is engineered