Mr Jeffrey Lucy, Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), today reminded potential investors that, if promised returns sounded ‘too good to be true’, then they probably were.
Recent enforcement action taken by ASIC against ‘get rich quick’ schemes, including investment seminars, provides a sobering warning to potential investors.
‘Investment seminars that claim to “turn your financial dreams into reality” or promise that “you can become a millionaire in three years” may push financially dangerous strategies or promote outright scams’, Mr Lucy said.
As ASIC’s consumer protection website FIDO (fido.asic.gov.au/seminars) tells you, ‘It’s usually safer and far better value to attend seminars run by reputable organisations and licensed financial services businesses’.
Right now, ASIC has more than 30 investigations into ‘get rich quick’ schemes, many of which are illegal schemes and most of which promise unrealistically high returns.
In the last four months, ASIC has obtained court orders or undertakings against 14 wealth creation and illegal schemes. The most recent one was court action to stop alleged misleading and deceptive claims being made by Break Free Events during the promotion and provision of option trading seminars.
In the last financial year, ASIC acted against 43 illegal schemes involving more than $200 million.
More information about how to avoid the scams and pitfalls of ‘get rich quick’ seminars is available at ASIC’s consumer protection website FIDO (fido.asic.gov.au/seminars).
Background
[This media release was amended on 6 April 2018 in accordance with ASIC policy - see INFO 152 Public comment on ASIC's regulatory activities.]
End of release
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Go to FIDO, our website for consumers and investors, to find out more about investment seminars, 'get rich quick' schemes and how to avoid being scammed.