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Scam Alert: Beware scammers impersonating ob体育 requesting payments to release funds or assets

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Key points

  • Scammers are impersonating ob体育 by sending emails and texts requesting that recipients provide a payment to enable funds or assets to be released
  • ob体育 does not collect payments to enable the release of funds or assets
  • If in doubt, call ob体育 to verify that the communication you received is legitimate
  • ob体育 does not provide guarantees of funds or assets release
  • ob体育 does not provide payments into a digital asset exchange

Consumers have received emails and phone calls from scammers purporting to be from ob体育, asking them to provide a payment to enable funds or assets to be released.

ob体育 is aware of a recent example where requests were made for payments in US dollars to release an investor鈥檚 funds. Offers such as these are recovery scams.

ob体育 does not collect payments to enable the release of funds or assets.

ob体育 will never ask for a payment in any currency to enable funds or assets to be released.

ob体育 will also not require or accept payments in digital or crypto assets (including stablecoins), whether that is to or from your crypto asset wallet or to an account at a digital asset exchange.

ob体育 is Australia鈥檚 financial services regulator 鈥� it does not allow the reproduction or use of its logo by a third party entity or guarantee any of its services.

Before investing, always check to see if an organisation is licensed by ob体育 to provide financial services on the .

If you receive unsolicited contact claiming to be ob体育 or an employee of ob体育, always confirm you are dealing legitimately with ob体育 by hanging up the call and calling back on the number listed on the ob体育 website.

ob体育 will always include a contact in its communications with you, so you can verify the legitimacy of an ob体育-branded notification. You can also call us on 1300 935 075 from within Australia, and +61 1300 935 075 from overseas to verify the legitimacy of the communication.

Additionally, ob体育 will always send communications from an email address ending in @asic.gov.au.

ob体育 will always call you from a telephone number using Australia鈥檚 country code 鈥�+61鈥�. If asked, an ob体育 employee will provide you with an email from their asic.gov.au email address to confirm the legitimacy of the contact.

If you think you may have provided personal information to someone impersonating ob体育 or another organisation, we recommend visiting our Moneysmart website to read about .

Figure: Example of scam letter

What to do if you believe you have received a false communication?

  • Do not take any action until you are sure the communication is legitimate
  • Call ob体育 on 1300 935 075 from within Australia, and +611300 935 075 from overseas and ask for the communication to be verified

Think you have already been scammed?

If you think you鈥檝e been scammed, take these steps fast:

  1. Do not send any more money. Block all contact from the scammer.
  2. Report it to your bank or financial institution. If you made a payment from your bank, you should contact your bank or financial institution and ask them to stop any transactions. If you are not happy with your financial institution鈥檚 response you can lodge a complaint with them. If you are not happy with this response, you can make a complaint to the .
  3. Report it to your digital asset exchange. If you made a transfer of digital assets from a digital asset exchange, you should contact them to report the scam.
  4. Contact , a free government-funded service, which can help to develop a specific response plan if your identity has been compromised. IDCARE will never contact you out of the blue.
  5. Be wary of follow-up scams promising to help get your money back, including those claiming to be from ob体育.
  6. Report it to to help stop the scammer.
  7. Warn your family and friends about the scam.

Go to for more detailed steps.

Background

Be alert to scams

When it comes to investment scams, remember these three things:

STOP 鈥� Don鈥檛 give personal information or act on investment advice you have come across on online including on social media. Don鈥檛 feel pressured to invest. If you have any doubts, stop communicating with them.

CHECK 鈥� Ask yourself if you really know what you are investing in. Scammers can create fake digital ads, websites, news and reviews to make an investment seem legitimate. Do an internet search to see if there are warnings about this investment scam, including if a well-known public figure has warned about being impersonated. And check ob体育鈥檚 website to confirm if the person or entity offering the investment is licenced or authorised to do so.

PROTECT 鈥� Act quickly if something feels wrong. If you have shared financial information or transferred money, contact your bank immediately. Help others by reporting scams to .

Find out more about .

Banking scams: What to look for

ob体育 has published a number of articles on its ob体育 and Moneysmart website in relation to banking scams and what to look out for. Links to these articles can be found below.

Related links:

Further support

If you need to talk to someone, contact:

  • Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours) or their crisis support or
  • Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 (24 hours) or their .

If you are experiencing problems with debt, contact:

  • the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm) or .

ob体育 is Australia鈥檚 corporate, markets and financial services regulator