Overseas scammers targeting Australian investors

Australia’s financial services regulator has warned people to avoid “scammers” connected to Luxembourg Offshore Banking, also known as LUXOSB Limited.

ASIC said fraudsters had been contacting people about Luxembourg Offshore Banking and had:

• Pretended to be from ASIC
• Claimed that withdrawals were being processed or withheld by ASIC

“The activities of Luxembourg Offshore Banking and LUXOSB Limited are scams,” according to ASIC.

“They are not regulated by ASIC nor licensed or authorised in Australia to provide financial services.

“Luxembourg Offshore Banking and LUXOSB Limited are based overseas, despite claiming to be associated with a company in Australia.”

ASIC said that Luxembourg Offshore Banking claims to offer an investment program, called ExpertKonek, through an online trading platform for stocks, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies and indices markets.

Consumers are told that if they want to activate a trading account, they need to provide photocopies of official documents such as passports and utility bills.

“These are sophisticated scams convincing people to part with their money and provide personal information,” ASIC said.

“The public need to be extremely cautious of these scams and contact their financial institution if they believe their money may be at risk.”

How to avoid being scammed

ASIC said there are several things Australians can do to protect themselves from these kinds of scams:

• Only deal with companies that have an Australian Financial Services licence
• Avoid companies and individuals that are on the ASIC blacklist
• Don’t give money or personal information to someone who contacts you out of the blue
• Contact your bank immediately if you’ve given bank account or credit card details to a scammer
• Remember that government departments and financial institutions would never ask you for your personal details via unsolicited contact