Scammers are using fake news articles to trick Australians into investing in fake platforms

Some people have lost a lot of money to this big scam, which uses Facebook ads to find new targets.

Here's how the scam works and who might be behind it.

The scam starts with a fake ad on Facebook.

The ad shows a fake story with Australian celebrities, using pictures made by a computer.

There are many ads like this, often with famous ABC reporters and politicians.

If you click on an ad, it takes you to a fake ABC News website that looks very real.

The fake website has all the same parts as the real ABC News website.

Each fake story talks about a public figure and a secret way to invest money.

The stories use fake pictures that look like they were taken behind the scenes of a TV show.

In one story, a politician's bank details are shown on TV.

In another story, a senator yells at the politician for talking down to people.

The stories use simple language, like a computer wrote them.

One story says, 'A senator's fist hit the desk so hard that the water glasses shook.'

The stories have short sentences and exciting scenes, with some real facts mixed in.

The goal of the scam is to get people to invest in a fake platform called Hexonix 365.

Hexonix 365 is a scam designed to take people's money.

The fake website says that time is running out to invest, which is a trick to make people act fast.

This is a common tactic used by scammers to get people to make impulsive decisions.

If you click on the Hexonix 365 link, you'll go to a website that looks like an investment platform.

The website promises high returns and has testimonials from other Australian celebrities.

If you fill out the form, a scammer will call you to try to take your money.

This scam is happening in many countries, with similar ads targeting people in Canada, the UK, and Europe.

The scam is run by a big group that uses sophisticated online tools and is part of a criminal network in Europe and Israel.

The scam has stolen at least $350 million from people around the world.

One Australian man lost more than $500,000 to the scam and said, 'My world ended as I knew it.'

Another man lost more than $100,000 to an earlier version of the scam in 2024.

Do you know more about this scam?

If you have information, you can contact Julian Fell at tips@jtfell.com.

The scammers are good at reaching potential targets, which is key to their success.

We found many ads on Facebook that linked to the fake ABC News website over several months.

When one batch of ads was removed, another account posted new ads linking to the same fake articles.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, did not respond to our requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the ACCC said that digital platforms need to cooperate to stop investment scams.

The spokesperson said that all platforms, including Meta, need to do more to protect their customers from scams.

Scammers use sophisticated tactics to avoid detection by platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

A company that tracks malicious ads says that scammers are abusing the legitimate ad industry to funnel traffic to their scams.

But there are things that can be done to stop the scammers.

Meta makes money from scam ads.

Celebrities have been asking Meta to stop their images from being used in scams for years.

One celebrity said, 'I've complained to Facebook and Instagram, but they do nothing.'

A billionaire is suing Meta over fake videos of him that are spreading on the company's platforms.

And yet, the scam ads continue to appear.

A investigation found that Meta is making a lot of money from scam ads.

Documents from inside Meta showed that the company expected to make 10% of its revenue from scam ads in 2024.

On average, Meta was showing 15 billion scam ads per day, which translated to $7 billion in revenue per year.

This is money paid by scammers to Meta, which uses the ads to reach their victims.

The victims' money is being used to reach more victims, and Meta is profiting from it.

The fake ABC scam is run from Israel and Eastern Europe.

The ABC has identified over 3,000 fake investment brands created by the scammers.

The scammers use digital forensics to create fake brands that target specific countries.

When one brand is blocked, another takes its place.

Each brand targets a specific country, using fake testimonials from local celebrities.

Australia, Canada, and several Western European countries are heavily targeted.

Scammers usually avoid targeting people in their own countries to avoid local law enforcement.

Some evidence suggests that the scammers are operating from Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Israel.

The money trail leads to an international money-laundering network based in Israel.

An Israeli operator was recently convicted of laundering over $10 million in a Sydney court.

The Australian Federal Police would not comment on whether they are investigating the group.

The AFP said it has provided assistance to offshore scam investigations, resulting in 560 arrests and the disruption of 15 scam centers.

The ABC website has information on scams and what to do when you encounter them.

The ABC is concerned about misinformation and content that exploits the trust of its audience.

The issue highlights the importance of trusted sources of information, like the ABC.

The ABC said that third-party platforms have limited protections for audiences.

The ABC spokesperson said that the issue highlights the importance of trusted sources of information.

The article was published on Tue 23 Jun 2026 at 4:39am.

The article was updated on Tue 23 Jun 2026 at 10:07am.