Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has highlighted the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) new scam website takedown capability.
The new scam website takedown capability removes or limits access to fraudulent and malicious websites on the internet. Since July, it has taken down more than 2,500 investment scam and phishing websites. Specifically, 2,100 sites have been taken down, and more than 400 are still in the process of being taken down.
“We recognise that scammers rely on technology to perpetrate investment scams. This includes using sophisticated websites to trick Australians into believing they are making genuine investments. Our website takedown service helps us identify and disrupt investment scam and phishing websites from causing further harm to Australians,” said ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court.
The scam websites disrupted by ASIC included fake investment platforms, crypto-asset scam websites, and imposter scam websites impersonating legitimate financial service businesses.
ASIC's new scam website takedown capability is part of the Australian government's Fighting Scams initiative.
The initiative protects Australians from financial harm and supports the work of the National Anti-Scams Centre (NASC) – which commenced operations on July 1 and has been coordinating with the government, law enforcement, and the private sector to combat scams.
In a recent statement, ASIC advised Australians to contact businesses by using their publicly listed phone number if they are unsure whether they are dealing with a legitimate business.
“All Australians should approach websites that promote guaranteed, quick, low-risk and very high-returns with caution. If an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is,” Court.
Last month, ASIC delved into its enforcement actions that helped consumers and small businesses.
