Fake News Articles, Over 4,000 Aussie Victims: An Israeli Network Behind Investment Fraud

An alleged Israel-headquartered fraud network has reportedly defrauded more than 4,000 Australians, luring them to investment scams through fake news articles and false promises of AI-assisted trading, according to an investigation by local news outlet ABC. The group operated from central Tel Aviv and has been linked to call centres in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Cyprus, Macedonia and Israel. The network has been active since at least 2021, and investigators at the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) estimate victims lost “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The Australian news agency traced the fraudulent activities to a local company that allegedly laundered the proceeds, though the accountancy firm, director and sole shareholder all cut ties when questioned. The company’s director identified the real owner, an Israeli national who denied any fraudulent activity, but his name was absent from all Australian filings and he later tried to distance himself from the firm. His marketing company, which on paper sells visa services via telemarketing, operated call centres in Israel, Cyprus, South Africa, Spain and the Philippines. Investigators linked a South African affiliate to processing payments from an investment scam in 2021, though the Israeli owner denied involvement. Another company connected to the same individual allegedly received payments from Australian victims in 2024.

Investment scams remain Australia’s costliest fraud category, with losses rising from $328 million in 2020 to $945 million in 2024, and $837.7 million in 2025 alone, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Targeting Scams Report. This network is not the first Israel-linked ring to surface; a March 2025 investigation by OCCRP, Swedish broadcaster SVT and The Guardian uncovered a boiler room operation controlled from Israel and run from offices in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Spain and Cyprus that took in over $247 million from thousands of victims.