Recognising financial scams before you send money
Pause, verify the identity behind an offer and act quickly if money or financial details have already been shared.
Before you start
If you suspect a scam after sending money or sharing financial details, contact your bank or card provider immediately. Ask whether it can stop the transactions. You do not need to finish investigating before seeking help. Scamwatch: what to do if you have been scammed (opens in a new tab).
Give yourself room to check
An unexpected request becomes harder to assess when someone insists you must act immediately. End the call or pause the conversation before sending money or personal information. Contact the organisation through its official website or app, using details you find independently. Ask someone you trust to look at the request with you. Scamwatch: Stop. Check. Protect. (opens in a new tab).
For investment offers, promises of certain profits or unusually high returns with little risk deserve particular scrutiny. A polished website, glowing reviews or a familiar face in an advertisement does not establish that an investment exists. Scammers can construct several apparently separate websites and endorsements that reinforce the same false story. Some even make small payments to build confidence. Treat those signals as things to investigate, rather than reasons to transfer more money. ASIC MoneySmart: investment scams (opens in a new tab).
Check the identity behind the offer
Use the official register links in ASIC MoneySmart's checking guide (opens in a new tab). Look up the claimed Australian financial services licence or authorised representative, and match the name and number to the business approaching you. Check the website address against the register where one is listed.
A company registration is a different check from authorisation to provide financial services. A real licence number can also be borrowed by an impersonator. Independently establish how to contact the actual business before relying on documents or payment instructions sent by the person making the offer.
Even a genuine licence is not ASIC approval of an investment or a promise that you cannot lose money. Read the offer documents and identify how the investment is meant to generate returns. If you cannot explain that clearly, leave the decision open while you seek clarification.
Limit further damage
Stop sending money if you are unsure. Alongside contacting your bank, seek identity support through the IDCARE link in Scamwatch's recovery guidance (opens in a new tab). Be suspicious of a new contact offering to recover your losses: the same person can be targeted again.
If passwords or security details may be compromised, change them. Check statements and credit reports for unfamiliar activity, and notify the organisation being impersonated. Scamwatch's protection steps (opens in a new tab) explain these actions and point to support. Asking for help is appropriate even when you are uncertain what happened.
Report through the right channel
Report suspicious contact or activity to Scamwatch (opens in a new tab). Its reporting page also links to police reporting for cybercrime and identity support. ASIC's scams hub (opens in a new tab) directs investment-scam reports to Scamwatch too. Reporting helps authorities identify activity and warn others; keep pursuing urgent account protection separately.
If your concern is how a financial firm handled the matter, explain the problem and requested remedy to the firm, then make a written complaint if unresolved. ASIC MoneySmart's complaints guide (opens in a new tab) explains escalation to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. This guide does not determine eligibility for compensation or promise recovery.