Scam Warning about sites impersonating XEN

Warning about scam sites impersonating XEN

We've been alerted to a number of scam websites that are impersonating us.

UPDATE: I have added updates at the end of this post.

They use variations of our name in the domains, including:

• www.au-xensystems .com
• www.xensystems-au .com
• www.xensystems-au .live
• www.auxensystems . com

They use our ABN on their site.

They also use our logo on their site - here's a screenshot of one scam site using our logo:

To be very clear: these are NOT our sites.

Do NOT sign up or use these sites.

Do NOT send them any money or give them your bank details.

What we know so far

Here's the details we're aware of so far:

• The scam sites are promoted through messaging apps, and via Facebook promoted posts (on scam pages)
• The posts claim that you will be required to carry out an action such as complete a survey or boost a post, and you will receive payment (eg commissions)
• The site then asks you to create an account and enter your bank details to receive payment
• The site asks you to transfer some money from your account to theirs to 'validate' your details. This is the scam - you will never receive any money back.

Who created these scam sites?

We don't know much about who has created them, other than they were registered in China. Here's the WHOIS record for one of the domains:

We've lodged an abuse complaint on the Name . com site.

When did this start?

• the sites were registered on 02 September 2022 
• we started receiving calls from upset/angry victims of the scam a week later
• based on conversations with the victims (after explaining it has nothing to do with us), it seems the scam started on or around Monday 05 September 2022 (but they've waited a few days before trying to make contact)

What to do if you've been scammed

• Firstly, if you've transferred any money, immediately contact your bank and ask them if they can reverse the transfer
• Also ask your bank to put extra security measures onto your account (in case the scam site operators attempt to access your accounts pretending to be you)
• Second, report the issue to Scamwatch
• You can also report the issue to the Australia Cyber Security Centre
• Next, report any social posts on the platforms - for example on Facebook you can report the post to Facebook following the details here.
• Please let us know - you can submit details using our Contact form here.

What next?

We are continuing to investigate the issue.

We suspect there are more sites being created, likely on mass.

We'll update this post as/when we have further details.

UPDATES: 10 September 2022

This is an example of one of the scam sites after logging in (supplied by one of the victims to us) - we have blurred out some of the personal details:

This is an example of a chat conversation that one of the victims shared with us, that they had with the scam site:

UPDATES: 11 September 2022

I met with local police this morning to discuss the issue and get advice on what else we can do.

Sadly, there is very little else we (XEN) can do to help the victims of this scam.

They advised that any victims of the scam should follow the recommendations we've already advised above, including:

• Immediately contact your bank to see if they can reverse the transfers
• Also ask your bank to add extra security checks on your account(s), in  case the scam operators try to access your account pretending to be you
• Report the scam on the Scamwatch site
• If you have provided the scam site with personal information (Eg drivers license) you should consider getting a new license, in case the scam operators try to use your license pretending to be you (eg they might use it to open fake accounts with your details). For example, in NSW you can replace your license from the Service NSW site.

UPDATES: 16 September 2022

As of this morning - 16 September 2022 - all 3 known scam sites have been taken down (thank you to Name . com for their quick response on this.

UPDATES: 29 September 2022

We have been alerted to a 4th scam site being used (we've added to the list at the top of the post) and have initiated the process to have it taken down.

UPDATES: 01 October 2022

The 4th scam site has now been taken down (thank you again to name . com for their help with this).

More updates will be added as we learn more.