A sophisticated new scam has been uncovered that targets the retirement nest eggs of Australians.
The ABC’s 7.30 program can reveal the scam used the names Invest Fast or Invest Quick and pretended to be a financial advice firm based in Melbourne.
Scammers would cold-call victims and set up self-managed super funds (SMSF) for them so they could supposedly achieve high investment returns.
At least 45 SMSFs were created for potential victims.
The scammers would then steal their victims’ superannuation, either by getting them to agree to rollover their funds or forging the rollover documentation.
It has exposed the vulnerability of a superannuation fund and a major bank to scam activity, increasing calls for more to be done to protect and reimburse scam victims.
‘It’s just gone’
Townsville small business owner and father of three Andrew Holmes has lost more than $220,000.
“It’s just completely consuming, it just doesn’t leave my brain,” Mr Holmes said.
“I worked so hard my entire life and I put money away, extra money away … and it’s just gone.”
Two weeks ago, 7.30 reported allegations that a call centre in the Philippines is linked to multi-million dollar scams that have targeted Australians for their superannuation.
A police raid was conducted in search of evidence related to the scams and the names of some Australian victims were found in computer databases.
No charges have been laid as authorities continue to investigate.
Private cybercrime investigator Ken Gamble believes there is evidence to link the Invest Quick scam to the same Metro Manila call centre.
“Invest Quick is another fraudulent name, which has been invented by a very clever syndicate of fraudsters who are doing multiple different scams,” he said.
7.30 put questions about the Invest Quick scam to the corporate regulator, ASIC
Deputy chair Sarah Court said in a statement: “These questions involve numerous matters and persons of interest to ASIC. ASIC is significantly constrained in its capacity to respond to questions about matters which are the subject of criminal investigations.
“These matters are a powerful reminder that Australians need to treat contact by any third parties in relation to their investment and superannuation choices with the maximum caution.”
On the Invest Quick website, which is no longer online, it displayed details of two legitimate Australian businesses with similar names.
Both have told 7.30 that their details were copied or cloned without their knowledge.
