Boiler room investment scams use a combination of high pressure cold calling and dishonest sales techniques that cost Australians millions of dollars every year.
Posing as a financial advisory firm selling too-good-to-be-true investment opportunities, these criminals target unsuspecting Australians and gain their confidence with persuasive offers for shares in legitimate companies – only these shares do not exist.
“This is transnational organised crime at the highest level” says Ken Gamble, Executive Chairman of IFW Global. “It’s devastating to the victims. It involves hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.”
Recently, IFW Global worked alongside local authorities in the Philippines to raid and expose a criminal syndicate scamming hundreds of thousands of US dollars per month. This group included eight foreigners who took advantage of a lack of Filipino laws that allowed international boiler room gangs to believe they could get away with their illegal operation.
The raid, which was captured by 60 Minutes, resulted in 32 arrests for the investment fraud targeting Australians. The 60 Minutes episode offers an inside view into the work IFW Global undertake in their effort to catch international criminal syndicates.