ASIC is warning the public to be wary of scammers claiming to be from ASIC in connection with Luxembourg Offshore Banking, also known as LUXOSB Limited.

The activities of Luxembourg Offshore Banking and LUXOSB Limited are scams. 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.

Theses scammers maintain that withdrawals are being processed or withheld by ASIC.

Luxembourg Offshore Banking and LUXOSB Limited claim to offer an investment program called ExpertKonek, through an online trading platform relating to stocks, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies and indices markets.

To activate a personal ‘trading account’, customers are asked to provide proof of ID such as photocopies of a passport and proof of address such as a utility bill.

ASIC urges anyone who receives unexpected contact in these circumstances to simply hang up or delete the email and block the sender.

If you have been targeted by this scam or believe your bank account may have been compromised, you should contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes said “These are sophisticated scams convincing people to part with their money and provide personal information. The public need to be extremely cautious of these scams and contact their financial institution if they believe their money may be at risk.”

Protect yourself

• Check the ASIC website to see if the company has an Australian Financial Services licence
• Check the list on ASIC’s MoneySmart website of companies and individuals that are not licensed by ASIC. If the company that contacted you is on this list, do not deal with them
• Don’t deal with people who do not have an Australian Financial Services licence
• Don’t send money or give out your personal information to someone you don’t know and trust or who contacts you out of the blue
• If you’ve provided your bank account or credit card details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately
• Keep in mind that government departments and financial      institutions would never ask you for your personal details via unsolicited contact

Report

You can report scams via ACCC’s SCAMwatch.

More information

The Australian Government website www.australia.gov.au is a safe portal for finding government services.