Buyer beware with funds transfer fraud – 21 February 2025
Given that Australians have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to funds transfer fraud in the past decade and a half, there is a surprising lack of authority indicating how courts apportion responsibilities and losses between funds Transferee and Transferor. Article goes through recent case law showing where the Court found in favour of the Seller/Transferee rather than the Buyer/Transferor.
https://www.qlsproctor.com.au/2025/02/buyer-beware-with-funds-transfer-fraud/
OpenAI removes users suspected of malicious activities – 24 February 2025
OpenAI has removed accounts of users from China and North Korea who the artificial intelligence company believes were using its technology for malicious purposes including surveillance and opinion-influence operations. The activities are ways authoritarian regimes could try to leverage AI against the US as well as their own people.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/openai-removes-users-suspected-of-malicious-activities-615205
Victorian Police warns of scam campaign targeting Chinese-speaking community – 24 February 2025
Victoria Police has issued an updated warning regarding a phone- and social media-based scam campaign that has been targeting the Mandarin-speaking student community since 2017. However, police have recently observed the scammers broadening their victim base, with at least 20 per cent of victims being non-students.
Real-time tech makes life tougher for criminals – 24 February 2025
Industry-wide collaboration is putting the screws on international criminals, with the introduction of new confirmation of payee functionality coming this year to be a key part of this. Confirmation of Payee allows customers making a payment via their banking app to match the bank account details entered with the details held by the recipient’s bank and displaying the outcome to the customer. It’s designed to give Australians more confidence that they’re paying the right account and to decide what to do next – pay, check the details again or choose not to proceed with the payment altogether.
Australian regulator fines two ex-Star Entertainment executives for breach of duty – 24 February 2025
Reuters -Australia’s corporate regulator said on Monday it fined two former Star Entertainment executives a combined A$240,000 ($153,096) and disqualified them from managing any companies after they admitted to breaches of duty while at the casino operator. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said it fined Star’s former chief financial officer (CFO), Harry Theodore, A$60,000 and disqualified him from managing corporations for nine months. It fined Star’s former chief casino officer, Gregory Hawkins, A$180,000 and disqualified him from managing corporations for 18 months.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/australias-corporate-watchdog-penalises-two-050536402.html
Fake job ads leading to scam compounds and sexual slavery – 26 February 2025
This article outlines how scamming compounds have boomed across Asia from Sihanoukville in Cambodia to Myanmar. Victims are often sold between different organisations running scam operations. Once victims arrive, if they fail to meet targets, in many cases they’re forced into a kind of sexual slavery. Traffickers often issued fake “employment contracts” to deceive both the victim and authorities.
Facebook and Instagram publish graphic porn ads disguised as fake make-up tutorials – 26 February 2025
Meta has removed a page that published two dozen sexually graphic ads that were able to circumvent the platform’s auto-review process. An ABC NEWS Verify analysis of the ads has linked them to a dubious store that is hawking erectile dysfunction supplements and is filled with deceptive practices. The eSafety Commissioner’s office asked the social media industry to include proposed safety measures against pornographic materials in draft codes to the commissioner by February 28.
Tobacco Wars – 26 February 2025
Four Corners investigative journalist Dan Oakes uncovers the secrets of Australia’s black-market tobacco trade in Tobacco Wars. With illicit cigarettes readily available in cash-only stores and distributed by unmarked vans across the country, this investigation reveals a vast network stretching from Melbourne’s suburban tobacconists to international smuggling routes. Using concealed cameras and exclusive access to law enforcement, the Four Corners team follows the illicit pipeline, exposing the lucrative industry that is fueling violent organised crime while robbing the government of billions in lost revenue.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-26/tobacco-wars/104986340
‘I can’t buy food for my children’: Facebook profits from charity scams costing taxpayers – 27 February 2025
Social media giant Meta has been profiting from hundreds of Facebook scam advertisements preying on Australians experiencing financial hardship, leaving taxpayers and charities to foot the bill. The fraudulent ads purport to offer no-interest loans to people with low incomes facing unexpected costs, such as replacing a broken fridge, car repairs so they can get to work, or bond money to secure a rental property. In reality, they trick Australians into handing over sensitive personal details that allow scammers to crack into their myGov accounts, redirect their Centrelink payments and steal their identities.
Six tonnes of party drug bute seized in Sydney after routine police check – 27 February 2025
NSW Police have seized more than six tonnes of the party drug butanediol with a street value of $132 million in Sydney. Officers discovered the warehouse where the drug was stored after a chance find during a routine firearms compliance check at another address. A 26-year-old man and 27-year-old woman have been charged.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-27/nsw-bute-drug-seized-after-routine-check-croydon/104988956
‘Shockingly legitimate’: Scammers up their game to steal your hard earned – 28 February 2025
Australians are being inundated with investment scams that look like real products, the corporate watchdog has warned. ASIC says it’s making headway in its efforts to stem the endless tide of scammers, pulling more than 10,240 websites down in just two years. It highlights that in the last six months of 2024, ASIC increased its new investigations by 31 per cent to 109 new investigations, started 15 new court actions, and completed 376 surveillances. The update also reports ASIC was successful in the majority of its civil and criminal prosecutions, securing $46.6m in civil penalties and 13 criminal convictions.
