ASIC takes down over 2,500 investment scam and phishing websites
At a press conference today, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones outlined a new scam website takedown capability implemented by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The takedown capability removes or limits access to fraudulent and malicious websites on the Internet.
Since July 2023, ASIC has disrupted scam activity by initiating takedowns of more than 2,500 investment scam and phishing websites. Those figures include:
- 2,100 sites that have been taken down;
- over 400 sites in the process of being taken down.
ASIC’s investment scam and phishing website takedown capability is part of the government’s Fighting Scams initiative to disrupt scams and protect Australians from financial harm. The initiative also supports the work of the National Anti-Scams Centre (NASC), which commenced operations on 1 July 2023. The National Anti-Scam Centre will coordinate government, law enforcement and the private sector to combat scams.
The scam websites disrupted by ASIC include fake investment platforms, crypto-asset scam websites, and imposter scam websites where legitimate financial service businesses are being impersonated.