Check before you invest

Before you invest your money, take time to check who you’re dealing with and what you’re investing in.

According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians lost more than $837 million to investment scams in 2025. These tips can help protect you:

STOP

• Don’t rely solely on testimonials, celebrity endorsements, a professional-looking website or social media posts.
• Never feel pressured to invest. Take your time to research first.
• Don’t believe ‘guaranteed’ returns or claims that your investment is ‘safe’.

CHECK

• Is the company licensed by ASIC to advise on or offer this investment?
• Could the company be fake or impersonating an ASIC licensed company?
• Do you understand how the investment works? Could you explain it to someone else?

PROTECT

• Know what to do if something does go wrong, and how to make a complaint.

STOP: Watch out for investment scams

Investment scams are serious crimes. Scammers may create professional-looking websites, use familiar-sounding or trusted business names, tell convincing stories, provide fake documents and pressure you to act quickly to transfer money or share personal information.

Scammers may also pretend to be real companies by copying their details and websites. Always independently verify who you are dealing with.

If an offer sounds too good to be true – like easy money or guaranteed returns stop and step back.

For more tips on what to look for, see investment scams.

CHECK: Is the company real and licensed or authorised

In Australia, companies or people offering investments must have an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence, or be authorised by someone who does.

An AFS licence:

• controls what kinds of financial products they can sell
• gives better protection to investors if things go wrong 

It's important to know that holding an AFS licence doesn't mean that ASIC endorses the company, financial product, or advice. It doesn't guarantee the investment is safe or that you won’t lose money from dealing with them.

How to check on a company or person

If they say they are:	Check this:
Licensed by ASIC (AFS licence) An authorised representative for a licensee (with an AFS licence) Offering an investment in a registered managed investment scheme	ASIC's Professional Registers Search enter the name, Australian Business Number, Australian Company Number or licence number select Register: Australian financial services licensee in drop-down menu if a website URL is listed in the register, check that it matches any website URL you have been using ASIC Connect search within: Banned and Disqualified see if they have been banned from giving financial advice or managing a company Moneysmart Investor Alert List this is a list of suspicious companies, businesses and websites that are not to be trusted. They may be unlicensed or impersonating a real company or licensee.
A financial adviser who can advise you on, or sell you, an investment	Financial advisers register enter name, adviser number, or Australian Business Number check what they are authorised to advise on

CHECK: Do you understand the investment?

Make sure you understand how the investment works. A good way to test this is to see if you can easily explain the investment to someone else.

Ensure you know, and are comfortable with, how much risk you are taking on. Generally, the higher the projected return, the higher the risk involved.

If you can’t clearly explain how the investment works, or if the information doesn’t add up or make sense, you may be at risk of being deceived into investing in a fraudulent or high risk scheme.

For more tips on how to research an investment, see how to invest.

Find and read the offer documents

Before investing, get the official documents, like a product disclosure statement (PDS) or a prospectus.

Get the PDS or prospectus from:

• the public website for the company
• your financial adviser
• searching ASIC’s Offer Notice Board

Learn more about how to read a prospectus (under 'Initial public offerings').

Be wary of high-risk or unregulated investments

Investments not regulated by ASIC include crypto or digital assets that are not financial products, direct investment in real estate or precious metals, and international investments not offered by licensed Australian providers.

Many of these investments are higher risk, so you may be more likely to lose your money. And you are not protected if things go wrong.

To find out more about high-risk investments, see investment warnings.

PROTECT: Know your rights if things go wrong

If you have a problem with a financial service or product from a licensed company or individual, you can complain. They are obligated to see if they can resolve the issue.

For detailed steps, see how to complain.

If you invest in something that is unlicensed and unregulated in Australia, it's harder to get help if things go wrong. If you think you have been scammed, act fast and follow these steps. 

Anyone can be scammed - Australians lose billions each year. But keeping up to date on what to look out for can help reduce your risk. Visit Scamwatch for more information.