Corporate watchdog ASIC is alerting investors about a fake Telstra corporate bonds scam.
A statement by ASIC said Australians have been directly offered Telstra corporate bonds associated with UBS and ING Bank, but these investment offers were fake.
Scammers are pretending to represent well-known financial services firms including banks and are offering fake UBS or ING Bank issued Telstra bonds mirroring the characteristics of the legitimate exchange traded bond units (known as XTB) listed on the ASX.
ING Bank and UBS have both confirmed to ASIC that they are in no way associated with the offering or issuing of these Telstra bonds. Therefore, any offering of Telstra bonds associated with ING Bank or UBS is a scam.
“Like all investments on the ASX, all trading in exchange traded bond units are conducted via a licensed broker on the exchange,” the ASIC statement said.
“Any offers to purchase any listed corporate bond, whether it be for Telstra or any other Australian company, will not be conducted via email or as a recommendation from a comparison website.
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“Do not buy bonds from Telstra (or any other company) that are offered via email or as a recommendation from a comparison website – these are a scam.”
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
ASIC encourages investors to obtain independent financial advice before investing, and to check ASIC’s registers to see if the entity you’re dealing with holds an AFS licence. However, unscrupulous operators sometimes impersonate AFS licensees.
You should check that the contact details you’ve been given for the entity, corresponds with publicly available details for the licensee, and confirm with the licensee that the communications in fact originated from them.
You should also consider where you are sending your funds. An AFS licensee must ensure that investor funds:
- Are paid into an account held in the name of the provider of the financial services.
- Are paid into accounts held with an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution (such as a bank).
- Are held in a trust account.
Think you have been scammed?
- If you need someone to talk to, contact: Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours) or their crisis support online chat (7pm – 12am) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 (24 hours) or their web chat (1pm – 12am)
- If you are experiencing problems with debt contact the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm) or chat online
