Scammers targeting investors with fake bond investments, ASIC warns
ASIC has issued a warning about a bond investment scam involving the fraudulent use of the corporate regulator’s name and logo to entice victims.
The scammers are pretending to be legitimate AFS licensees and issuing fake bond documents to investors, ASIC said in a public statement.
“They are also using ASIC’s name and logo, holding out that ASIC will guarantee their bonds,” the corporate regulator warned.
“These documents are fake. ASIC will never provide a guarantee on investments and will never authorise its logo to be attached to investment materials.”
The offers are being made through unsolicited telephone calls, emails or other means such as social media contact.
“If you receive an investment offer which claims to be guaranteed by ASIC, do not deal with the entity.
Private investigator IFW Global recently issued a similar warning about bond investment scam known as EQR Securities.
IFW Global warned that the scammers are claiming to be a registered company with deposit bonds issued and backed by one of Australia’s leading banks.
“This sophisticated scam is swindling private investors across the country,” it said in a recent statement.
“This scam targets investors across Australia by offering fake deposit bonds advertised as low risk, high return with a guarantee of the initial investment back.”
Where victims have invested in these bonds, they are requested to pay funds into a bank account.
“Despite what its marketing materials claim, EQR Securities is not a legitimate fixed income security,” it stated.
“Rather, it is just another scam that promises too-good-to-be-true returns to steal your hard-earned savings. Unfortunately, it is very challenging to recover money lost to scams of this nature, particularly if the fraudsters are located outside of Australia.”
