ASIC Slashes Registration Fees
From 1 July 2006 the ASIC fee for registering standard companies was reduced from $800 to $400. This action was taken by the government in response to one of the recommendations in the Report of the Taskforce on Reducing the Regulatory Burdens on Business – Rethinking Regulation.*
Shelco’s prices have reduced accordingly and a list of our prices are available on our website www.shelco.com.au/feesmain.cfm
* Provided by www.asic.gov.au : Saturday 1 st July 2006
‘Phishing’ Scams More Common and Sophisticated – ASIC Warning
Scams that convince consumers to provide their personal banking details by email have increased significantly and become more sophisticated, prompting ASIC to issue a consumer warning.
Known as ‘phishing’, fraudsters gain personal information for identity theft purposes, using deceptive email messages that appear to come from legitimate businesses.
More than one in five of all consumer scam complaints received by ASIC related to phishing in the 2005-06 financial year, with the number of phishing complaints increasing by 25 per cent over the past two financial years.
‘The techniques adopted by phishing scammers are becoming more sophisticated and are always changing, mostly due to the rapid increases in modern technology’, ASIC’s Executive Director of Consumer Protection, Mr Greg Tanzer said.
‘In the past financial year, we found that scammers used a more targeted and personalised approach to request personal details. For example, emails and website links mirrored legitimate bank websites, and bogus job offers were used to coax people into providing bank account details. We also found cases where requests were made for personal information through Ebay, and for online share trading accounts where scammers would ask for password details via telephone.’
‘It has never been more important for people to be wary of emails requesting personal details. These scammers or ‘phishers’ are technically sophisticated and savvy, with the range of online fraud methods and systems constantly changing.
‘I can’t stress it enough, never give your personal banking and other financial details by email’, Mr Tanzer said.
‘People, as well as banking institutions, must remain vigilant and look at how they can secure their online environment, and will need to continue to do so as these scams and threats are not, unfortunately, going to go away.’
‘What’s more, phishing attacks are, these days, often hybrid in nature, employing multiple technologies and combining elements of trickery with technical attack.’
Mr Tanzer offered the following tips to consumers to prevent people being defrauded:
- change your passwords frequently and use passwords that are hard to guess;
- ensure you have anti-virus and anti-spy software on your computer and a personal firewall, and update the software regularly;
- only log on to your internet banking account from your bank’s website;
- never respond to any email that requests your account details and passwords - delete these emails immediately;
- avoid using computers in public places such as internet cafes to do your online banking;
and
- exit from your account as soon as you finish your banking.
More information on phishing and other financial matters for consumers is available from FIDO, ASIC’s consumer website, or by calling 1300 300 630.
* Provided at www.asic.gov.au : Tuesday 13 June 2006
ASIC Launches Service Charter
As part of its ongoing commitment to better and more transparent regulation, ASIC today launched a Service Charter outlining a range of standards and principles aimed at improving the standard of our service.
ASIC Chairman, Mr Jeffrey Lucy, said the Service Charter is part of our Better Regulation initiatives and is an important step in being more transparent and accessible to our stakeholders.
The Charter sets out what the many thousands of Australian companies, financial services businesses and professional service providers can expect from their dealings with ASIC. The Charter identifies how long it will take to process applications or requests. ASIC will report on its performance against key efficiency indicators in its annual report.
Mr Lucy said ASIC will continue to demonstrate its commitment to better regulation by delivering further key projects, such as:
- publishing information about how ASIC works, makes decisions and approaches its legislative functions; and
- reducing the number and types of documents it publishes into smaller and more readable sets.
‘We are looking at how we do things to find ways to do them better. The improvements outlined in Better Regulation will be an important part of our agenda for the coming 18 months and will assist us in our goal to be a strong, fair and progressive regulator,’ he said.P
* Provided by www.asic.gov.au : Friday 30 June 2006
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