Fake regulators conning Aussie investors
By Ross Kelly
FAKE web sites set up by phoney international regulators are duping Australian investors into buying shares from dodgy offshore stockbrokers.
The Australian Securitiesand Investments Commission (ASIC) was alerted to the charlatan entities, which have names like the US Securities Investigative Committee, by a number of complaints from people who had lost money after being tricked into buying worthless shares from offshore brokers claiming to hold licences from the fake regulators.
“As investors become more informed about the need to check licence details and verify information with the local regulator, these offshore swindlers are resorting to more elaborate devices to make themselves look genuine,” ASIC executive director consumer protection Greg Tanzer said.
“Worldwide, regulators are warning investors about the problems of dealing with unlicensed sharebrokers, and some publish lists of specific companies to be wary of. Like ASIC they encourage investors only to deal with companies that are licensed or registered in that country,” Tanzer said.
“ASIC repeatedly advises Australians to only invest through licensed Australian financial services businesses.”
To check whether an offshore regulator is genuine, ASIC encourages investors to contact the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) at www.iosco.org.
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