The federal government’s new scam website takedown service is removing nearly 20 websites every day since it was launched midway through last year.

Following the establishment of the National Anti-Scams Centre by the federal government in July, a new scam website takedown service was launched by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

This service sees the regulator referring suspicious websites to a third-party company that specialises in cybercrime detection and disruption.

If these suspicions are confirmed, then the service begins the process of taking it down, including the identification of relevant parties who can assist with this.

These scams websites typically are unregulated, fake or imposter entities offering financial services or investment scams to Australians, including fake trading platforms and crypto-asset investment scams.

According to new statistics released by ASIC, this new service took down 3,490 investment scam and phishing websites from 1 July to 31 December last year, the first six months of its operation.

This equates to more than 19 scam websites being tackled each day under the new government initiative.

ASIC chair Joe Longo said the agency is particularly focused on tackling scams head on and upping its surveillance activity to minimise consumer harm.

“Cost of living issues mean more Australians are looking for ways to make ends meet and scammers are only too happy to try and take advantage,” Longo said.

“That’s why ASIC is stopping investment scams at the source of their promotion, removing them from the internet before they can lure in unsuspecting consumers.”

ASIC is now embarking on a new phase of its scam-combatting mission, Longo said.

“We’ve already examined the way major banks detect, prevent and respond to scams, resulting in ASIC setting expectations that all financial institutions take steps to improve their approaches,” he said.

“We have now turned our attention to a broader range of banks and superannuation trustees to ensure they’re doing all they can to protect their members and consumers from predatory scammers.”

In 2022 Australians reported losses of $1.5 billion to investment scams, which typically rely on technology and sophisticated websites to trick people into thinking they are making a genuine investment.

According to the ACCC’s Scamwatch, Australians reported losing more than $8 million alone to online investment trading platforms scams, with 400 reports made.

Along with the takedown service, ASIC has also launched an investor list to help consumers inform themselves if an entity they are considering investing in may be fraudulent, unlicensed or a scam.

Scam celebrity investments

ASIC recently flagged the growing risk of fake celebrity financial services industry ads and posts on social media, which are luring unsuspecting people into thinking they are following the investment advice of celebrities.

These include the use of fake news and “deepfake” to make it appear like celebrities are endorsing certain investment platforms, which often claim to use AI and other technologies such as quantum computing to create high profits.

ASIC found scam trading platforms named Quantum AI, Immediate Edge, Immediate Connect, and Quantum Trade Wave were operating this way.

After an individual submitted an application form on the scam site, someone pretending to be an account manager would call them and tell them to pay about $250 into an access platform, and to then download a cryptocurrency app to invest more.

The website would display an online dashboard appearing to show a small profit, with scammers persuading the victim to invest more.

But when the investor attempted to withdraw money, the scammer would demand withdrawal fees or mention tax issues to get the money back, with no withdrawal allowed.

A war against scams

The federal government has actively tried to combat costly scams in recent years, with an ACCC report finding that losses reported to government agencies were at least $3.1 billion in 2022, up 80 per cent from the previous year.

Earlier this year the government announced plans to tackle SMS scammers by blocking brand-impersonating messages before they are sent through a Sender ID Registry, which was allocated $10.9 million in funding in 2023 budget.

This will involve the creation of a list of registered brand names and allocating them approved phone numbers, with an aim of blocking scammers from impersonating legitimate brands.

Late last year a Treasury consultation paper outlined a Scams Code Framework, that would create an overarching plan for combatting scams, within which regulators would create a range of sector-specific codes and standards.