Charges laid after alleged Gold Coast cold calling scam leads to $1.5m loss – 28 April 2024
Detectives allege several Gold Coast companies defrauded more than $1.5 million from about 30 people.Multiple companies were allegedly involved, including Crypto Advisers Australia, Strategic Capital, Active Marketing Solutions and Alternative Capital. The charges come following an almost two-year investigation by Queensland Police into cold call investment fraud or “boiler room” scheme.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-29/four-charged-over-alleged-gold-coast-cold-call-scam/103779786
Scam losses decline, but more work to do as Australians lose $2.7 billion – 28 April 2024
The National Anti-Scam Centre’s collaborative efforts across government, law enforcement, consumer organisations and industry have boosted the community’s fight against financial crime, as the latest Targeting Scams report reveals a 13.1 per cent decline in reported losses to $2.74 billion in 2023. Article also details scam trends and tips to avoid being scammed. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/scam-losses-decline-but-more-work-to-do-as-australians-lose-27-billion
Rebel Sport owner faces escalating legal threat – 28 April 2024
The board of Rebel Sport owner, Super Retail Group, is facing an escalating crisis as Harmers Lawyers says more current and former employees have approached them, about a potential lawsuit amid allegations of an undisclosed relationship, involving the group’s boss, Anthony Heraghty, as well as governance issues and bullying claims. https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/rebel-sport-owner-faces-escalating-legal-threat-20240429-p5fne1.html
Every Dollar Lost to Fraud in Australia Costs Firms AUD$3.68 According to LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study – 28 April 2024
Fraud has increased for 66% of Australian organisations year-on-year. Organisations incur an average cost of AUD$3.68 ($2.96 for retailers and $4.21 for financial institutions) for every Australian dollar lost to fraud. These costs encompass financial losses due to fraud, as well as internal labor expenses, external costs, legal costs and recovery fees, along with the expenses associated with replacing or redistributing lost or stolen merchandise.
Cyber attacks on firms are ‘in no way’ declining – 28 April 2024
Brendan Payne is a partner at McGrathNicol and operates in the cyber risk incident response and digital forensic space. In this article he reflects on the current state of affairs for cyber risks and how and why legal businesses should improve their cyber security frameworks, to avoid adverse implications. Business should also respond in a timely manner in the event of a cyber instance.
https://www.cyberdaily.au/culture/10479-cyber-attacks-on-firms-are-in-no-way-declining
I lost $2.5m of my super to scammers – 28 April 2024
More than 60 victims who have lost money from HSBC accounts in the past 12 months totalling more than $6 million have formed an action group to demand compensation and explanations about how the scams happened. Many claim the bank has attempted to buy them off with “goodwill” payments of around $200 for tens of thousands of dollars in losses each. The victims claim the banks are using a legal loophole to avoid financial liability for the thefts, responsibility for the money’s security or power to control the losses.
https://www.afr.com/wealth/personal-finance/i-lost-2-5m-of-my-super-to-scammers-20240423-p5flzp
White-collar crime goes unpoliced due to lack of funds: ASIC boss – 28 April 2024
ASIC has faced criticism inside parliament and more broadly, that it only pursues a small fraction of the complaints it receives every year. Chairman Joe Longo says he would love to run more court cases against badly behaving companies and dodgy directors, but his hands are tied because he does not have enough money.
Outgoing investigations boss Tim Mullaly blames focus on banks, insurers for plunge in ASIC, DPP charges – 28 April 2024
ASIC’s enforcement boss (Tim Mullaly) has blamed a belated focus on dodgy dealings by banks and insurance companies for a plunge in serious prosecutions. When quizzed about just two sets of criminal charges being laid by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in the first nine months of 2023-24, Tim Mullally pointed to his investigators being tied up by complex civil actions in the wake of the financial services royal commission.
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Accounting bodies slam ATO’s use of client linking to tackle fraud woes – 28 April 2024
The ATO should have stepped up basic fraud prevention measures before resorting to a “burdensome” client-agent linking process that forces busy tax agents to do the heavy lifting, professional bodies say. CA ANZ, CPA Australia and the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) said the recommendations contained in the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman’s report into the ATO’s management of tax identity fraud, showed there were other “relatively easy” steps to keep fraudsters at bay.
Binance founder is sentenced to four months in prison on money-laundering charges – 1 May 2024
Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, has been sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to money-laundering charges last year. The company admitted to engaging in anti-money laundering activities, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations.
Australians are losing $5,200 per minute to scammers. There’s a way to cut that, but so far the government isn’t keen – 28 April 2024
Last year Australia lost an astonishing $2.74 billion to scammers. That’s more than $5,200 per minute. In Australia in 2022, only 13 per cent of attempted scam payments were stopped by banks before they took place. In 2022, people in the UK lost £2,300 per minute, which is about $4,400. The UK has two and a half times Australia’s population. If we want to cut Australians’ losses, it’s time to look at rules about to come into force in the UK.
Fraud, waste and abuse: How some doctors are exploiting Medicare and turning patients into ‘cash cows’ – 28 April 2024
The ABC asked experts to examine the records of several chronic pain patients to determine if any misbilling had occurred.
They said: “100 percent of the anesthetic claims we reviewed were questionable.” Stakeholders, including medical practitioners and healthcare executives, have called for an urgent reform of the billing processes.
NSW Fair Trading launches inquiry into strata management company Netstrata following ABC investigation – 2 May 2024
NSW strata and property services commissioner John Minns has announced a review of Netstrata and its operations.The ABC revealed the company Netstrata was routinely using its wholly-owned insurance arm to charge apartment owners insurance brokerage fees as high as three times the typical rate and was taking kickbacks from contractors and suppliers it hires. A “third-party independent expert” will conduct the review. Fair Trading says it reserves the right to take further regulatory action.
