Consumer Bulletins

Financial fraud is rising – we all see reports of it every day in the news and our social media feeds, but it can be difficult to appreciate the risks and impacts of fraud when we have not had first-hand experience. It is important for everyone to understand how financial frauds take place and how to remain vigilant for ourselves and our loved ones. Opting out of financial services is not possible – these services are an essential part of managing our money and securing our financial future. Understanding how to participate in the system and protect ourselves is the key to avoiding becoming a victim.

A growing number of Canadians are interested in investing in new categories, such as cryptocurrency, but these emerging technologies and platforms are unfamiliar to most investors, giving fraudsters the advantage when they are looking for people to target. According to the RCMP, fraud involving cryptocurrency rose 400 per cent between 2017 and 2020. What had been hundreds of cases (734) in 2017 jumped to thousands of cases (7,598) in the first eight months of 2020, causing losses of almost $11 million dollars to Canadians since the onset of the pandemic.

More Canadians are choosing to be self-directed or do-it-yourself (DIY) investors than ever before.

Deferred sales charges (DSCs) are fees that mutual fund investors pay to the mutual fund company if they sell the mutual fund within a certain time after purchasing it.

Canadians have good reason to fear getting scammed.

It is something none of us wants to think about – what will happen if I or someone I care about becomes ill and needs assistance with our finances?

During times of economic uncertainty, people often feel stressed about their finances. They spend more time thinking and worrying about money. Many will face unexpected expenses or loss of employment and lose the sense of security they had with their banks or firms. This may lead to concerns about being treated fairly.

Romance and employment scams are the most common online scams we see at OBSI. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians lost more than $22.5 million to romance scams and more than $5 million to employment scams in 2018.

Binary options are a very high-risk investment that Canadians should avoid. It is like a placing an all or nothing bet on the performance of an underlying asset.

As you may have heard, fraudsters recently claimed to have access to the personal and account information of some BMO and Simplii Financial clients.