CommBank issues urgent alert as sophisticated 'pump and dump' scams target Australian investors

Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) has issued an urgent warning in May 2026 regarding a sharp rise in highly sophisticated investment scams targeting Australian consumers. The national alert specifically highlights a surge in 'pump and dump' market manipulation schemes. These fraudulent activities are leveraging realistic deepfake images and deceptive social media advertisements to exploit retail investors.

The deceptive campaigns primarily appear as paid advertisements and posts on Facebook, a social media platform operated by Meta. These ads falsely impersonate CommSec, the online brokerage division of CommBank, to establish immediate trust with potential victims. To enhance the deception, scammers are utilising advanced artificial intelligence to create deepfake images and falsely employ the names and likenesses of trusted public figures. Among those targeted by the impersonation campaigns is former CommSec market analyst Tom Piotrowski, alongside various other prominent economists, corporate executives, and financial journalists.

Typically, victims who click on these fraudulent social media advertisements are redirected away from the host platform to external investment websites or private social media groups, such as WhatsApp chat channels. Once inside these closed groups, individuals are provided with fabricated financial advice and urged to purchase specific low-liquidity domestic and international stocks. The scammers encourage coordinated buying to artificially inflate, or 'pump', the share price. Once the price reaches an inflated peak, the fraudsters sell, or 'dump', their own large holdings, causing the share price to collapse and leaving unsuspecting retail investors with severe financial losses.

Regulatory Actions and AI Sophistication

This latest warning from CommBank reflects a broader, ongoing challenge for Australian regulators and financial institutions. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) previously issued warnings about similar pump and dump schemes in December 2025 and March 2026, noting that these operations are increasingly global in nature and highly organised. In April 2026, ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland raised concerns about the rapid evolution of financial crime, highlighting the increasing use of artificial intelligence by scammers to create highly convincing fake investment advertisements that mimic legitimate financial services.

The broader Australian banking sector, including National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ, and Westpac, has also been actively working alongside law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to combat the threat. In March 2026, Meta introduced new anti-scam tools in direct response to widespread fraudulent campaigns that were impersonating major domestic banks. Separately, in March 2026, CommBank reported a $1 billion loan fraud, an entirely distinct issue from the ongoing retail investment scams but one that underscores the scale of financial crime currently facing the sector.

Escalating Scale of Scam Losses

The financial impact of these fraudulent operations on the Australian public is substantial. During 2026, Australians lost an estimated total of $2.18 billion to scams. Out of this total, investment scams accounted for the largest share of losses, costing victims $837.7 million.