The persistence of cold calls in financial advice ⚠️📞
Despite years of warnings from regulators, some financial advice firms continue to rely on cold callers and lead generators to drum up new business — often disguised as a friendly “superannuation health check.”
These unsolicited calls might sound helpful at first, but many are designed to convince you to switch your super fund or meet with a financial adviser who profits from the referral.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has cautioned that such tactics threaten the nation’s $4.3 trillion retirement savings pool, yet laws still allow them to operate through loopholes.
“If someone calls you up and says, ‘We want you to move your $250,000 or $500,000 from one place to another’, stop. Just stop. Sleep on it. There’s no rush.”
— ASIC Chair Joe Longo
The loophole that lets it continue
Under Australia’s anti-hawking legislation, unsolicited calls about financial products are banned. But the same protection doesn’t extend to financial services — a carve-out that allows cold callers to offer “super health checks,” “free reviews,” or “advice sessions” even when the goal is ultimately to sell you a product or move your super.
That’s how some firms, such as InterPrac Financial Planning and related networks (including the now-collapsed Shield and First Guardian funds), were able to lure thousands of Australians into risky or costly arrangements.
Even today, certain advice firms are reportedly paying third-party companies like CheckMySuper for dozens of “qualified leads” each week — keeping the cold-calling model alive.
Industry insiders say they’ve repeatedly warned ASIC about these schemes for years with little visible action, even after collapses that left 12,000 investors short $1 billion in retirement savings.
Why older Australians are the main target
Older Australians are often the focus of these calls because they typically have larger super balances and are nearing or already in retirement — a time when decisions about money feel more urgent and emotional.
Unfortunately, scammers and unscrupulous advisers exploit that urgency.
- In 2024, Australians aged 65 and over reported over 62,000 scam incidents, losing almost $100 million, according to the Council on the Ageing (COTA).
- Investment scams alone made up around $66 million of those losses.
- The ACCC’s Scamwatch confirmed that older Australians are the only group whose scam losses continue to rise year after year.
Cold callers often build trust by sounding professional or mentioning well-known financial brands. They might even know personal details — such as your fund name or suburb — scraped from public data or previous surveys.
Government and consumer advocates push for change
Consumer groups, including Super Consumers Australia and National Seniors Australia, have called for a complete ban on cold calling and lead generation in the financial advice industry.
“We don’t think any legitimate business should be engaged in this type of practice. We’ve seen it lead to too much loss and too many people subjected to high-pressure sales tactics,”
— Xavier O’Halloran, CEO, Super Consumers Australia
In early 2025, the federal government introduced the Scams Prevention Framework Bill, requiring banks, telcos, and digital platforms to better detect and block scam activity — a welcome step, though it doesn’t yet outlaw cold calls for “financial health checks.”
Advocates continue to push for legislation that closes this loophole once and for all.
Top Tips to Protect Your Super and Savings
1. Hang up immediately. If you didn’t ask for the call — it’s unsolicited. Legitimate super funds won’t cold call you.
2. Contact your fund directly. Use a verified phone number or website. Ask if they’ve contacted you or partnered with the caller. 3. Never share details. Don’t disclose your TFN, super fund number, or retirement balance to anyone who calls you first. 4. Get advice in writing. If an adviser offers to “review” your super, ask for their ASIC licence number and a written summary before agreeing to anything. 5. Sleep on it. Pressure to act immediately is a red flag. Take time to discuss any offer with family or trusted friends. 6. Report suspicious activity. Contact Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au), ASIC, or your super fund if you suspect you’ve been targeted.A growing problem — but you can stay one step ahead
The “super health check” pitch preys on two powerful emotions: fear of not having enough money and trust in professional-sounding voices.
But awareness is your best defence.
Take your time, do your own checks, and remember — your retirement savings deserve care, not cold calls.
If something doesn’t feel right, hang up, seek independent advice, and protect the nest egg you’ve worked so hard to build.
Sources: ASIC, COTA Australia, Choice, National Seniors Australia, ACCC Scamwatch (2024–2025 data), The Australian, The Guardian.
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