Did ASIC contact you recently? Be careful about cold calling scams impersonating ASIC.
Watch out for scams involving phone calls or emails from people pretending to be ASIC staff. Zucoins L.P. urges you to be extremely wary of cold callers claiming to represent ASIC.
These cold callers never provide any evidence of their employment with ASIC or provide you with the exact nature of their call. In fact, these cold callers only leave a vague message requesting that you return their call. No other information is disclosed.
Zucoins L.P. recently obtained a recording of a cold call (that may or may not be a scam), which can be accessed here:
These cold calls should be treated with great caution unless you have satisfied yourself that they are real. Zucoins L.P. strongly recommends that you adhere to ASIC’s own advice published on its website here: https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2015-releases/15-309mr-consumers-warned-about-cold-calling-scam-impersonating-asic/
Most Australian Government departments (i.e. Austrac, ATO, Department of Health etc) have flagged warning notices on their websites about cold calling scams impersonating government officials.
Executive ASIC Leader, Assessment & Intelligence, Warren Day said:
“These scams are intended to trick you into providing your personal details. They may even pretend to be from a government agency to appear genuine and may use your information to commit other scams. We encourage the public to be cautious of calls like these. If you receive a phone call out of the blue from someone in these circumstances, no matter who they claim to be, simply hang up.”
What to do if you receive a cold call?
If you receive a cold call or email, you should not:
- Phone them back
- Reply to the email
- Click any links
- Download any files
If you wish to return the call, then you must protect your personal information and legal rights by:
- Verifying the cold caller’s legitimacy by emailing [email protected] or contacting Warren Jacobs, Senior ASIC Investigator on 0466 290 064.
- Contacting your lawyer.
- Exercising your legal rights to simply hang up, as advised by ASIC.
If you have not received any formal Section 19 or 33 Notices issued by ASIC, then you cannot be compelled by law to speak with any ASIC representative or provide any information. Therefore, your response to these calls (assuming they are not cold calling scams) is purely voluntary.
Zucoins L.P. is acting in your interests to minimise the risks of you losing your Zucoins to these scams.