Monday Scam Brief — 19 October 2026

ASIC added 33 names to the Moneysmart investor alert list between 12 and 16 October. Three are impersonations of real companies, including Coinbase Australia. The other 30 are unlicensed names. Eight of those are new domains for Zephgain, a name ASIC has already listed since August.

On 14 October the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre published a high alert on internet-connected operational technology, including commercial refrigeration. ASD says it has not seen this activity targeting Australia. The next day ASD launched the ASD Essentials, an evolution of the Essential Eight, with chapters for enterprise IT, operational technology and cloud.

Scamwatch’s news feed has no item newer than the 28 September investment-scam alert. WA ScamNet’s four featured warnings are unchanged: event and festival tickets, fake shipping-container sites, flexible-work job scams, and tax phishing emails. The ACCC public warning notice register’s newest entries are still the 3 July 2025 ghost-store notices. Telstra’s active scam list had no new scam type. The ATO’s current scam alert is still the September malware email, last updated 18 September: a payment-update or income-statement message that leads to a malicious download.

Official alerts this week

ASIC Moneysmart investor alert list — new names this week

Source: ASIC Moneysmart investor alert list

ASIC added 33 names from 12 to 16 October 2026. Three are in the imposter category. The website or contact in the alert is not the company’s real site:

Impersonation of Australian Private Capital Advisory Services Pty Ltd (ACN 006 940 923, AFSL 236776) at ausprivatecapital.net, added 12 October. ASIC’s entry does not list a real website for this company.
Impersonation of Coinbase Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 654 922 442, AFSL 569752) at coinsitet.com, added 14 October. ASIC lists the real company’s website as coinbase.com.
Impersonation of Evolution MIT Services Pty Ltd (ACN 627 198 476, AFSL 528593) at evolutionmitservices.com, added 15 October. ASIC lists 88 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000, the phone +61 2 8880 5869 and the email info@evolutionmitservices.com. ASIC lists the real company’s website as evolutiontrustees.com.au.

The other 30 are in ASIC’s unlicensed category. ASIC has not marked them as impersonations of a named licensee. A familiar brand on an unfamiliar domain is still an alert. Names that stand out this week:

Zephgain on eight domains, all added 16 October: adunelariko.top, carumelaro.pro, earthnestly.top, javeluniko.pro, meadowcrist.info, studypathq.com, thornmeadowcox.com and umeradiako.info. ASIC has listed Zephgain since August, including a domain added on 30 September.
Fonndure at fonndure.com, added 13 October, listing 201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AB, the email support@fonndure-mail.com and the phone +44 1508 610495. The same day ASIC listed Fonndure on webtrader.manlnuy-astronayx.com.
Valorstead at themoneydetectives.com, added 13 October. The same name was listed on 15 September at valorstead.biz. The new domain reads like a news site.
OakshireTrustAI at au.geyser-sparrow.com, added 16 October. The same name was listed on 23 September at au.esecuinsti.com.
Stakemoor Equity at cognivaty.pro, added 16 October. ASIC listed that name on two other domains on 9 October.
CPT Trading at m.cptynkj.com (12 October) and cptynkj.com (15 October).
Coinscryp at coinscryp.com, added 16 October, listing Calle Cruz Roja, n°5, planta 3-B, 36002, Spain, and the email cs@coinscryp.app.
Intellario Trade Pro at intellariotradepro-ai.com, Laurentis AI at laurentisai.org and Rendelio AI at rendelioai.net, all added 16 October.

Being on the list means ASIC says that name should not be treated as a licensed way to invest in Australia. An imposter entry means the site or contact is copying a real company. The real company is a separate entity from the website in the alert. The list is not complete: a missing name is not a green light. Check the live list and ASIC’s professional registers before you send money, and match the website, not just the company name. Treat unexpected wealth, broker or crypto offers as hostile until you have verified them yourself.

ASD Australian Cyber Security Centre: operational technology and edge devices

Source: ASD ACSC, published 14 October 2026

This is a high alert for businesses and organisations that run operational technology, including commercial refrigeration and cooling. It is not a new consumer-payment scam. ASD says it is aware of cyber incidents affecting commercial refrigeration systems overseas, and that it has not seen active targeting in Australia. ASD’s advice is that any Australian organisation running internet-connected operational technology, including commercial refrigeration, should assess its exposure.

ASD’s listed steps are to keep operational-technology systems, their interfaces and edge devices off the public internet, especially older systems and those with remote access; patch vulnerabilities promptly; use strong authentication, access controls and network segmentation; and watch for unusual automated activity in security logs. An organisation that finds suspicious activity can contact ASD on 1300 292 371 or at cyber.gov.au/submit-a-report.

ASD Australian Cyber Security Centre: ASD Essentials

Source: ASD ACSC, published 15 October 2026

ASD launched the ASD Essentials, which it describes as an evolution of the Essential Eight. The audience is Commonwealth entities, critical-infrastructure operators and large organisations. The first three chapters cover enterprise IT, operational technology, and cloud services delivered as software or a platform. ASD says AI-focused guidance is included so organisations can consider AI-enabled systems in those environments.

ASD says organisations should keep meeting their current regulatory obligations until regulators communicate any related change. During the transition, ASD will keep both the Essential Eight and the Essentials on cyber.gov.au. This is not a consumer scam alert.

What to do

Stop. A trading offer on an unfamiliar domain, a site copying Coinbase or an Australian licensee, or a news-like page that opens an account form is a warning sign. Pause before you move money. An extra fee or tax demanded before you can withdraw is a warning sign too.
Check. Use a website or phone number you looked up yourself. For an investment, check the investor alert list and ASIC’s professional registers, and match the domain to the real company. Open Coinbase, the ATO, myGov or your bank by typing the address yourself.
Protect. Turn on multi-factor authentication for email and banking, and use a passkey where you can. Do not read a one-time code back to someone who contacted you. If you look after internet-connected refrigeration or other operational technology, keep those systems off the public internet, patch them, and separate them from the office network.

How to report

Scamwatch (ACCC): scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam
Report a cybercrime to police via ReportCyber: cyber.gov.au
Identity and recovery support: IDCARE on 1800 595 160

This brief is a public-interest summary of official Australian sources. It is not legal, financial or tax advice. Always rely on the original agency page linked above.

Sources used

Scamwatch’s news-and-alerts HTML page returned HTTP 403 when fetched on 19 October 2026. The Scamwatch RSS feed was read the same day. The National Anti-Scam Centre news HTML page did not return its item list; the NASC RSS feed was read. Neither feed had an item from the last seven days.