Key Highlights

  • Being asked to pay "tax" or fees before you can withdraw profits from a trading platform is a hallmark of an investment scam, Scamwatch warned on 28 September 2026.
  • Scamwatch, which is run by the ACCC, says investment scams increasingly arrive through channels that feel friendly and familiar.
  • Inside the group, someone posing as a "professor" or investment expert promotes a trading platform.
  • The trap springs at the exit.

Being asked to pay "tax" or fees before you can withdraw profits from a trading platform is a hallmark of an investment scam, Scamwatch warned on 28 September 2026. The alert lands in the middle of tax time, with self-lodged 2025–26 returns due by 31 October 2026. Genuine tax on investment profits is worked out through your tax return and paid to the ATO. It is never paid to a platform to release your money.

How the 'pay tax to withdraw' trap works

Scamwatch, which is run by the ACCC, says investment scams increasingly arrive through channels that feel friendly and familiar. One tactic starts with an invitation to a WhatsApp group built around a shared interest such as fishing or sport.

Inside the group, someone posing as a "professor" or investment expert promotes a trading platform. Other members post testimonials and claims of strong returns. Once a victim deposits money, the platform may show their profits growing.

The trap springs at the exit. According to the alert, when people try to withdraw, "they're asked for extra fees or taxes", and their money is not returned. Scammers sometimes allow small early withdrawals to build trust and encourage larger deposits. They then block the account and disappear.

Fake news pages and trusted friends

The alert describes two other routes. In the first, friends or relatives recommend a scheme without realising it is a scam, either because their own account seems to be earning well or because they are paid commissions for referrals. The profits may be fake, or early investors may be paid with newer investors' money, as in a Ponzi scheme. Eventually withdrawals are delayed or refused and the scheme collapses.

In the second, scammers impersonate trusted media outlets. Scamwatch cites a fake Reuters page that falsely claimed a platform had an "official partnership" with the news agency.

Scamwatch says scammers have also moved from direct celebrity endorsements to fake news stories about celebrities, which they then use to promote the investment. Any link from a celebrity story to a trading platform deserves extra caution.

How tax on investment gains really works in Australia

The "tax" these platforms demand has nothing in common with the real system. Australian residents generally report gains on shares, crypto and other investments in their annual tax return, alongside wages, interest and dividends.

A net capital gain is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate. Under the rules for 2025–26 returns, an individual who has held an asset for at least 12 months can generally reduce the gain by the 50% CGT discount. Under enacted reforms, that discount will be replaced from 1 July 2027 by cost-base indexation and a 30% minimum tax on gains accruing from that date.

After you lodge, the ATO issues a notice of assessment, and any tax owing is paid to the ATO. For self-lodgers, the 2025–26 bill is due on 21 November regardless of when the return is lodged. Where tax is withheld at source, for example because an investor has not given their tax file number, it is taken out of the payment itself.