Scammers who used an image of billionaire businessman Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest to promote a fake investment scheme have duped a West Australian woman out of $670,000.
The Bunbury woman found the online trading platform, which claimed to offer trading in crypto stocks, foreign exchange and contracts for difference, on Facebook and LinkedIn in March.
She made six payments to bank accounts in Australia and Germany as well as a credit card account.
The scammers made her feel secure by depositing $58,500 into her bank account when she asked to withdraw some funds from her trading account.
They also sent her a $2700 Louis Vuitton bag as a birthday present.
A spokeswoman for Mr Forrest's Minderoo Foundation said they became aware of various scams involving not just his image but also his name and misinformation falsely attributed to him early this year.
"Such scams are abhorrent," she said.
"We have asked the social media platforms to take more proactive steps to eliminate the scam advertisements utilising the technology available to them.
"Our negotiations with those entities remain ongoing."
Staff at Minderoo and iron ore producer Fortescue Metals, which Mr Forrest founded and chairs, have also be asked to report the scams when they see them.
The spokeswoman confirmed Mr Forrest did not publish information about investments he or his family made, except as required by law.
He has not endorsed or invested in any cryptocurrency, she added.
WA Commissioner for Consumer Protection Penny Lipscombe said fraudsters often used images of celebrities and well-known people without their permission to try to make their scams look legitimate.
In the Bunbury woman's case, the scheme also provided links to false news reports of Mr Forrest endorsing it, making it look convincing.
Australian Associated Press
