ASIC sees increase in reports about fake IPO and pre-IPO investment scams
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has seen an increase in reports about fake IPO and pre-IPO investment scams.
Scammers have been offering fake investments for Porsche’s IPO and Care A2+’s pre-IPO offering. The scammers have been impersonating Australian companies to promote the offers. They do not have any association with the companies.
ASIC found that the fake Porsche IPO has coincided with the genuine listing of Porsche, which took place on 29 September 2022 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Porsche shares are generally purchased by investors through licensed financial service providers or directly on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. If you are buying through another means, it may be a scam.
Scammers may present consumers with offer documents and share purchase agreements that appear to be genuine.
Investing at the pre-IPO stage can involve significant risks for investors. Pre-IPO offerings targeted at the general public – especially those that are published through ‘spam’ email – are often fraudulent and illegal.
A company that promotes an IPO in Australia must lodge a prospectus with ASIC. It may be a scam if:
- the company has not lodged a prospectus with ASIC (you can check this for free through ASIC Connect);
- the bank accounts details do not directly match the entity you are investing with;
- the document contains email addresses which don’t correspond with relevant corporate email addresses.