Australian Securities & Investments Commission warns consumers about impersonation scam requesting bank transfers to ‘secure’ accounts

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) issued a scam alert warning consumers about communications impersonating ASIC and requesting recipients transfer funds between bank accounts. ASIC stressed it would never ask someone to move their money as a security precaution and is not involved in creating bank or investment accounts. The scam message claims ASIC is investigating unlawful access to a recipient’s bank account by bank employees, asserts the security of funds has been compromised, and instructs the recipient to transfer money to a scammer-nominated ‘secure’ account. The communication also claims the new accounts are ‘fully insured and created through APRA’, incorrectly lists ASIC’s Sydney office address, and is signed by someone purporting to be from “ACIS”; ASIC noted common red flags such as misspellings, guarantees, and contact details that do not match ASIC’s website. ASIC added that legitimate emails will come from an address ending “@asic.gov.au” and calls will use Australia’s country code “+61”, and staff can provide an asic.gov.au email to confirm legitimacy. ASIC advised recipients not to take any action until they have verified the communication with ASIC. For suspected or confirmed scams, it recommended stopping further payments, contacting the relevant bank or financial institution to try to halt transactions, escalating complaints via the Australian Financial Complaints Authority if needed, seeking support from IDCARE where identity compromise is suspected, reporting to Scamwatch, and remaining alert to follow-up recovery scams.