ASIC squashes 2,500 scam websites with new take-down powers

Australia’s corporate regulator has put new website take-down powers to use in recent months, ‘knocking out’ more than 2,500 investment scam and phishing websites in the past four months alone.

These fraudulent websites include fake investment platforms, crypto-asset scam websites, and imposter scam websites, with 2,100 of the sites already taken offline and action underway to remove more than 400 more.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones shared details of the new take-down powers in a press conference on Thursday, where he said the capabilities are part of the federal government’s $17.6 million commitment in the last budget to better combat investment scams.

Jones said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is now removing “around 20 dodgy websites a day” thanks to these new take-down capabilities, which remove or limit access to fraudulent and malicious websites on the internet.

“Scammers are using all the tricks in the bag to con consumers — offering attractive investment returns, using fake ACNs, and claiming to have ASIC endorsement,” Jones said.

“It’s no surprise that even to the discerning eye, these scam websites trick consumers.”

The take-down service, for which ASIC is using a third party, is part of the government’s broader ‘Fighting Scams’ initiative and works alongside the National Anti-Scams Centre (NASC), which was established on July 1, 2023, to coordinate anti-scam efforts by government, law enforcement and the private sector.

These anti-scam initiatives are working, according to Jones.

“We’re beginning to see a trend of more reporting due to better awareness, and less financial losses,” he said in the statement.

“The NASC has reported a decline in losses to investment scams over the last quarter. This is a trend we’d like to see continue – but we all must stay vigilant”.

Some 60% of scam losses involve investment scams, said the government, with ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court adding during the press conference with Jones that imposter scams are particularly hard to detect.

ASIC recommends contacting a business directly by their publicly listed phone number if you suspect you may be dealing with an illegitimate business.

“All Australians should approach websites that promote guaranteed, quick, low-risk, and very high returns with caution,” she said.

“If an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.”

Members of the public can report investment scams to ASIC via the Money Smart website. All scams, including investment ones, can also be reported to ScamWatch.