Scammers impersonate Nabtrade’s Tom Piotrowski to promote fake investments
Australia’s NAB bank warns of increasing fraud on social media, where scammers impersonate celebrities like Kevin Costner and Elon Musk, as well as one of the bank’s own analysts, Tom Piotrowski, to lure victims into bogus investment schemes.
Since the start of the year, NAB has reported a 15% rise in these scams, which predominantly begin on social media platforms and websites. Chris Sheehan, NAB’s executive in charge of investigations, highlights that around 70% of investment scam losses originate through social media or websites. Despite ongoing efforts in prevention and public education, this figure remains stubbornly high.
NAB calls for a coordinated national approach involving businesses to combat fraudulent activities effectively. With social media becoming an increasingly attractive channel for scammers, enhanced controls and collaboration among stakeholders are essential.
NAB is one of Australia’s largest banks, offering a wide range of financial services, including banking products, lending, investment, and asset management. The bank is committed to improving security measures and protecting its clients against cyber fraud.
Commented by Alona Shevtsova: “Impersonation schemes involving well-known figures and financial experts are among the most dangerous forms of fraud, as they exploit trust and authority. Social media has effectively become an infrastructure for financial scams, and without coordinated action from banks, fintech companies, and the platforms themselves, this trend will be difficult to reverse. The key challenge is not only responding to incidents, but also building secure communication channels and improving financial literacy to prevent losses at the very first point of contact with fraudsters.”
In conclusion, raising public awareness and strengthening cooperation between government agencies and business sectors are vital to reducing social media fraud risks.
We can expect more stringent regulations and educational campaigns in the near future to better address these threats.
