This Month
Deepfake images lure investors to bogus stock clubs
The ASX is among the latest to be exploited in frauds costing investors at least $25 million a week. Here’s how to spot a scam:
- Updated
- Duncan Hughes
April
ATO told scam victim he owed $46k tax refund sent to fraudster
The victim of the scam was told he had to repay the money paid out to someone who had stolen his identity online.
- Tom McIlroy
I lost $2.5m of my super to scammers
Five victims outline how their funds were taken by sophisticated impersonation fraudsters and why they feel abandoned by their banks.
- Duncan Hughes
How to move on from a major financial loss
Three people who lost large sums of money open up about being duped, dealing with ‘gut-wrenching betrayal’ and their search for emotional acceptance.
- Nina Hendy
March
The Tinder cop: breaking up gangs who prey on the lonely
Romance fraud is the fastest-growing financial crime in Britain, where a lone detective took on an international network of fraudsters.
- Stuart McGurk
CEO tells how he almost transferred $25m to scammers
Scammers use LinkedIn to find wealthy individuals and C-Suite executives before pouncing when they are at their most vulnerable, like after an overseas trip.
- Lucy Dean
Canberra’s stoush with Meta wins global support
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has fired a volley at Meta over scams and fraud – and 10 other ministers meeting in London backed him up.
- Hans van Leeuwen
How do I protect my elderly mother from scammers?
The trick to discussing scams is to avoid pointing the finger or suggesting your mother is naive.
- Penny wise
February
Tool to prevent AI scams raised Aussies’ Tinder hit rates by 67pc
In a trial before a global rollout of ID verification services, Tinder says its Aussie and Kiwi users signing up, saw a 67 per cent increase in matches.
- Antonia Mufarech
January
- Exclusive
- Regulation
ASIC to pursue riskier litigation strategy in 2024
Chairman Joe Longo says corporate regulator will focus on financial services, crypto, superannuation and target firms operating in grey areas of the law.
- Ronald Mizen
New freeze button planned to stop bank scams
Bank customers will get a new kill button to immediately close down accounts or transactions and get repaid in 24 hours under a proposed new scheme to stop the explosion in scams.
- Tom Burton
December 2023
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
Little-used mobile phone feature exposes new scam threat
A newly discovered security risk that exploits 19-year-old mobile phone technology might let scammers bypass identity checks for banking and email.
- John Davidson
November 2023
Face scan logons, protection from Optus-like hacks in services revamp
Passwords are on the way out for digital services from the federal governments, as the myGov portal embraces a new secure passkey technology aimed at stopping scams.
- Tom Burton
October 2023
- Analysis
- The Breakdown
What Musk’s high-stakes plan to charge for tweeting really means
X, formerly known as Twitter, is charging $US1 a month for New Zealand and Philippines users to post in an experiment that could go global. So what’s Elon thinking now?
- Nick Bonyhady
September 2023
Refunding scam victims creates ‘honeypot for organised crime’: NAB
Banks says they need to be cautious about compensating for scam losses, and want digital platforms and telcos to share the burden.
- James Eyers
August 2023
Nickel market rocked again as trader pays $5m for ‘rubble’
Kataman Metals alleges it paid $5 million for a nickel cargo only to discover the containers were filled with near worthless rubble.
- Archie Hunter
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why smaller banks like Bendigo and BoQ have a big problem
Bendigo & Adelaide Bank has made good progress on costs and returns. But as loan growth shrinks, scams rise and inflation keeps pushing higher, scale counts.
- James Thomson
Ex-Mayfair head Mawhinney’s new website pitches double-digit returns
The former director of the collapsed Mayfair investment scheme has launched a platform that purports to helping investors stay clear of scams.
- Jonathan Shapiro and Liam Walsh
- Exclusive
- Big four
Crypto platforms a ‘getaway’ for half of scam proceeds
New data says about half of all scam proceeds vanish from the grasp of victims and law enforcement agencies via crypto platforms.
- Lucas Baird and Jonathan Shapiro
Mayfair promoter James Mawhinney emerges to run anti-scam service
The businessman is in the midst of a lengthy legal dispute with the corporate regulator and is not currently permitted to raise money from the public.
- Jonathan Shapiro and Liam Walsh