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Fraud Prevention Month 2018: Don’t Be Part of an Investment Fraud

This year’s Fraud Prevention Month campaign shows you how to recognize, reject, and report fraud.

If you’re approached by someone about an investment opportunity – even if it’s someone you know and trust – make sure to check it out first.

Recognizing fraud is the theme of this year’s Fraud Prevention Month campaign. BCSC InvestRight has a set of tools investors can use to assess if an opportunity is a fraudulent investment.

Take the Quiz to Learn the Fraud Warning Signs

The investment fraud warning signs quiz helps investors recognize if an opportunity has some of the characteristics of a scam.

The quiz scores the investment based on the five warning signs of investment fraud.

Take the Quiz

Do a Background Check on an Investment Advisor

Sometimes a little bit of research goes a long way. The goal of a background check is to learn as much as possible about someone before making an investment.

Investors can do a background check on an investment advisor with these four steps:

  1. Check registration with the Canadian Securities Administrators’ (CSA) National Registration Search database
  2. Check disciplinary history using the CSA’s Disciplined List
  3. Search the internet for the investment advisor’s name
  4. Interview the investment advisor

Generally, people offering investments must be registered in British Columbia. The CSA’s Guide to Understanding Registration explains the types of registration categories in Canada for individuals and firms.

BCSC Contact Centre can help investors with questions about background checks and how to use the registration search tools on the CSA website.

Do an Advisor Check

Report a Concern or Submit a Tip to the BC Securities Commission

Is something a little off about an investment opportunity? Don’t assume everything is okay. Report concerns to the BC Securities Commission (BCSC) immediately.

Investors can report to the BCSC via:

How to Report to the BCSC

Learn More to Protect Yourself from Fraud

Investors can review the basics of investment fraud in the Avoid Fraud section of InvestRight.org.

The following resources cover the key investment fraud concepts and topics:

Report a Concern

If you have any concerns about a person or company offering an investment opportunity, please contact BCSC Contact Centre at 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 or through e-mail at [email protected]. You can also file a complaint or submit a tip anonymously using the BCSC’s online complaint form.

InvestRight.org is the BC Securities Commission’s investor education website. Subscribe to receive email updates from BCSC InvestRight.

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Crypto Quiz

Test Your Crypto Asset Knowledge.

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This quiz is designed to introduce you to the basics of crypto assets. It is not intended to provide investment or financial advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for such advice.
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QUESTION 1/10

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are the same thing.