Stay informed on the latest scams. Get up-to-date information on how scams work and what to look out for so you can protect yourself.
Scammers purporting to be from IES INVESTMENTS PTY LTD are attempting to solicit investments in fake Macquarie-branded bonds. They appear to have created fake company websites as well as fake online reviews in an attempt to improve their legitimacy.
Contact details and domains used so far:
iesinvest.com
ies-investments-pty.com
online.ies-investments-pty.com
08 8121 7853
08 7081 0414
We’re aware of scammers purporting to be from Macquarie, as well as other financial service businesses, making unsolicited phone calls or sending emails, offering Macquarie branded bond investments. None of these offers are legitimate.
The scammers will often send out emails with attached high-quality prospectuses detailing various “investment opportunities” they have available. These emails look similar to our own (eg. @macquaire-corporate.com, @macquarie.wealth-au.com). Macquarie would never send emails detailing multiple investment opportunities and any product offerings or interest rates information can be sourced from our website.
For more information in relation to these types of scams please refer to the money smart website. https://moneysmart.gov.au/financial-scams/imposter-bond-investment-scams
If you’ve been impacted by this scam, please email scams@macquarie.com immediately.
Scammers purporting to be Insignia Financial have been reported contacting individuals, through unsolicited phone calls and emails, offering various bank branded term deposits, including Macquarie.
Contact details used by the scammers so far:
We have received reports of a fake Canstar phishing email currently being distributed, offering investments in Macquarie branded term deposits.
A term deposit scam impersonating Macquarie is currently being circulated through cold calls and emails, offering investments into term deposits.
A fake brochure with Macquarie-like branding, sent from email addresses similar to our own. You can see an example of what the scam looks like below.
Click here for information on how to correctly open a Macquarie Bank Term Deposit, with links to our current term deposit rates.
If you’ve been impacted by this scam, please email scams@macquarie.com immediately.
Websites impersonating Macquarie Bank’s online banking login page have been identified in the form of ads displayed in search engine results.
This is a common form of phishing scam where fake websites are created to look like an organisation’s login page to mislead customers into sharing their confidential information such as their login details or passwords.
These phishing websites ask for a customer’s Macquarie ID, password, one time passcode, and card details, which are then used to make fraudulent account and card transactions.
In this instance, fraudsters pay for these ads to show up in the top search results, which misleads customers into believing the search result is genuine. After clicking the link, the customer is automatically redirected to a fake website, where they’re at risk of having their personal and financial information captured and compromised.
Check for misspelled words in the advertisement URL and avoid clicking on the advertisement, even if it appears in the top search result.
You can see an example below of a phishing advertisement.
Never click on any links that take you directly to a Macquarie online banking login page.
Type macquarie.com.au into your browser and click on the login button on the page to log into online banking instead of through internet searches or links.
If you've been impacted by this phishing advertisement, please email scams@macquarie.com immediately.
We’re seeing an emerging trend of scammers contacting clients, usually by SMS or a phone call, impersonating the fraud team of various banks, including Macquarie. These scammers often use a tactic known as “spoofing” where they make their calls appear to have come from legitimate Macquarie phone numbers, or a legitimate Macquarie sender name in the case of SMS (see the image below for some examples).
Here are some of the red flags to look out for with this scam:
From time to time, our fraud team may need to contact you to verify certain transactions, which may require verbal identification, however, they will never ask you for or to do the following:
If you have doubts that you’re speaking with a legitimate Macquarie employee, request a reference number and call back on a number you have found from a valid source, like the Macquarie website or the number on the back of your bank card.
If you have any doubts that Macquarie branded correspondence you have received is legitimate, do not respond, this can be forwarded through to scams@macquarie.com for review and confirmation of legitimacy.
If you suspect that you may have been affected by this scam and if you’ve provided personal details or your funds have been transferred, please call us immediately on 133 174 (and for international locations on +61 2 8245 4470).
If you suspect you’ve received calls or an SMS, but you haven’t shared any details or transferred any funds, please report the scam by emailing scams@macquarie.com.
We’re aware of scammers claiming to be Bond Street Custodians Limited employees, contacting people through cold calls, emails, and social media, offering bond or investment opportunities. The scammers are including the real Bond Street Custodians Limited AFSL number (237489), and ABN (57008607065) on fake prospectuses and emails in an attempt to prove their legitimacy.
Bond Street Custodians Limited, which is a part of the Macquarie Group of companies, provides custodial services only. It does not provide bond or investment opportunities directly to members of the public. Bond Street Custodians Limited does not have its own branding*, email domains, or websites.
If you suspect that you may have been affected by this scam, you should stop all contact with the party you’ve been communicating with and contact us immediately by emailing scams@macquarie.com.
*Last known branding used by scammers,
-note, this could be different to what they use in the future
We’re aware that Macquarie’s name is being used by scammers to fraudulently solicit fake Term Deposit, ESG Bond and other types of Bond and Investment applications.
Below is information on how to correctly open a Macquarie Bank Term Deposit, with links to our current Term Deposit rates.
If you’ve been affected, please contact us by calling 133 174 (or for international locations +61 2 8245 4470) or by emailing scams@macquarie.com immediately.
You can only open a Macquarie Bank Term Deposits by visiting macquarie.com.au/everyday-banking/term-deposits and clicking on ‘Apply now’. You won’t be asked to transfer funds to establish a Macquarie Bank Term Deposit, rather we will direct debit the account number that you provide to us in your Macquarie Bank Term Deposit application.
Alternatively, your adviser can apply for a Macquarie Bank Term Deposit by logging into our secure portal Adviser Online with their designated Macquarie ID and password. Once they have submitted an application on your behalf, you’ll receive an email to review your application and links to our Product Information Statement.
In both cases, you’ll be issued with a one-off secure PIN which is required to submit your application. If you have additional account holders, they will receive similar emails to review the application and accept our terms and conditions.
Our only offer documents consist of the following:
If you suspect that you may have been affected by this scam, you should cease all contact with the party you’ve been communicating with and contact us immediately by calling 133 174 (for international locations +61 2 8245 4470) or by emailing scams@macquarie.com.
This information has been prepared by Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 237502 and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making any financial investment decision or a decision about whether to acquire a product, a person should obtain and review the offer documents relating to that product and also seek independent financial, legal and taxation advice. Lending criteria, fees and T&Cs apply. We make no guarantee concerning the accuracy of data and information contained on third party websites.