Purpose The purpose of this paper is to undertake an exploratory study on mapping the investment fraud methods and tactics used by scammers against the emerging literature on scam compliance. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews were conducted with victims of investment fraud supported by the engagement of specialist counsellors and allied health professionals who specialise in scam victim support (including investment fraud). Findings Investment fraud offending in the cases sampled exhibited a number of dominant offending traits and methodological themes. These included a strong reliance or dependency on legitimate service provisioning on the part of the fraudster and the use of key trust measures to lure the victim. The empirical data revealed the presence of a number of scam compliance influences captured in the literature, including trust, social influence and urgency, as well as others not previously documented that pave the way for further research attention. Research limitations/implications The research only examined a sample of investment fraud victim experiences that engaged a national victim support service immediately following detection over a 24 month period. Practical implications The research found that offending relied upon the participation of trust-building signals and measures. Legitimate economy participants appear to play a dominant role in enabling investment scam activities, further creating efficiencies for criminals. The offending tended to follow a number of distinct but connected phases. Impacts were influenced by specific offending attributes, such as whether remote access was given to offenders of a victim’s device, as well as the nature of the identity credentials access. Originality/value The research has practically applied an emerging view of scam compliance influences and vulnerabilities within an investment fraud context. The study is novel in its thematic analysis of the distinct phases and tactics used by scammers.

This paper analyses the determinants of the start-up location choices for 54,064 Australian personal financial advisors, and examines these choices with respect to their foreign and institutional affiliations.The evidence presented suggests that advisors consider general socio-economic and financial demographics when first choosing the location to commence their careers. Advisors tend to locate in areas with high population, low unemployment, smaller households and more elderly persons. Competition does not deter planners from choosing a particular location. Furthermore, foreign originated start-ups ignore financial characteristics, and prefer to locate in regions in which general demographics indicate a large market size. Bank affiliated start-ups locate in more favorable locations than independent advisors, reflecting cost and informational advantages. Independent advisors demonstrate 'learning' by replicating the location choices of institutionally linked advisors in the short term.